NYPL Blogs: Blog Posts by Subject: Genealogy/blog/subject/778
enLawmen and Badmen: The Tin Star of the Old Westhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/03/09/lawmen-badmen-sheriffs-marshals
Andy McCarthy, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-409e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="[Gunslinger in the church.]" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=G98F842_002&amp;t=w" width="450px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Gunslinger in the Church. Lobby card. Image ID: G98F842_002.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>In <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/Xeverson%2C+William+K.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/Xeverson%2C+William+K.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=everson%2C+William+K./1%2C39%2C39%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=Xeverson%2C+William+K.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;29%2C29%2C">the old movies about the Old West</a>, when grizzled, chawing, cussing, murdering highwaymen ride into town and disturb the peace, from behind the batwing doors of the lawman’s office steps the badge-wearing, fast-shooting, strong-silent-type. The banditti are savage and lawless. The lawman is good. </p>
<p>The lawman might be a U.S. marshal, appointed by the Attorney General, under whose loose, vague authority the marshal operated until the Department of Justice was organized in 1870; or he might be a local sheriff, elected to office by the townspeople. Out West, where systems of order were as scarce as systems of plumbing, the marshal and the sheriff assumed the persona of the law. The distinction often makes no difference in old Western movies, but is an optimum detail in the pursuit of genealogy and local history research in the Milstein Division, where reference librarians must wrangle between the local, county, state, and federal levels in order to rope in relevant resources for patron requests.</p>
<p>In <em><a href="http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&amp;Movie=51355" rel="nofollow">Silver Lode</a></em> (1954), sneer-and-swagger character actor <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aDuryea%2C+Dan%2C+1907-1968%2C+actor./aduryea+dan+1907+1968+actor/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=aduryea+dan+1907+1968&amp;1%2C12%2C">Dan Duryea</a> plays Ned McCarty, who rides into town on the 4<sup>th</sup> of July brandishing a marshal’s “tin star” and a warrant for the arrest of local rancher Dan Ballard. Turns out McCarty is an impostor, and hellbent to avenge the murder of his brother, whom Ballard shot in self defense; but by the time Ballard is exonerated, McCarty has riled up the whole town against him, and stars-and-stripes morality devolves into mob justice. <em>Silver Lode</em> proves that the badmen weren’t always bad, and the lawman wasn’t always lawful. </p>
<p>The old High German roots of the word marshal, “master of the horse,” befit both the iconography and transit of the frontier lawman. Marshals and sheriffs had the right to deputize civilians and assemble the <em>posse comitatus</em>, which etymology invokes research methods in local history librarianship, the “power of the county.” For example, marriage certificates are issued at the <a href="http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/marriage/marriage_bureau.shtml" rel="nofollow">local level in New York City</a>, the county level in <a href="http://www.azdhs.gov/vital-records/" rel="nofollow">Arizona</a>, and the state level in <a href="http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/Vital_Records/" rel="nofollow">Virginia</a>. Death certificates are sealed for seventy-five years in <a href="http://www.ok.gov/health/Birth_and_Death_Certificates/Death_Certificate_Eligibility/index.html" rel="nofollow">Oklahoma</a>, but in <a href="http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3132&amp;q=390664" rel="nofollow">Connecticut</a> they are public record before 1997. In New Mexico, birth and death certificates are obtained from the state, but marriages from the county clerk. Like military pension files, census schedules and bankruptcy petitions, naturalization records are filed at the <a href="http://www.archives.gov/nyc/" rel="nofollow">federal level</a>, but before 1906 citizenship may also have been <a href="http://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2015/03/28/uncovering-your-family-history-researching-immigration-records">applied for at county courts</a>. Deeds and land conveyances are filed at the county level, and likewise probate records, housed in the records room of the Surrogate's Court, which court is a "surrogate” of the governor’s office, dating back to colonial times when travel to the capital was distant, grueling, and slow.</p>
<div style="text-align:center">
<figure class="caption caption caption"><img alt="Cowboy Punching Cattle on a Jackrabbit" title="Cowboy Punching Cattle on a Jackrabbit. Postcard Collection, Milstein Division." height="375" width="500" class="media-element file-default" src="http://cdn-prod.www.aws.nypl.org/sites/default/files/2%20Cowboy%20punching%20cattle%20on%20a%20jackrabbit.jpg" /><figcaption>Cowboy Punching Cattle on a Jackrabbit. Postcard Collection, Milstein Division.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Access to court records, whether historic or last week, will also vary by state. For example, after the grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri decided against the indictment of Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, the St. Louis County prosecutor’s office <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_documents/ferguson-shooting/" rel="nofollow">immediately made public the court documents in the case</a>. However, at the State Supreme Court in Richmond County, New York, where the grand jury proceedings against Officer Pantaleo in the <a href="http://web.law.columbia.edu/social-justice/forum-on-police-accountability/facts/faqs-eric-garner" rel="nofollow">chokehold death of Eric Garner</a> also ended without indictment, court documents related to the case have remained sealed. The release of the documents, in accordance with state laws, <a href="http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202717162984/Impact-of-Disclosing-Garner-Grand-Jury-Minutes-Debated" rel="nofollow">was argued before a state judge in Richmond County this past February</a>. In the future, researchers seeking court records related to the case will be directed by local history librarians to the <a href="http://www.richmondcountyclerk.com/services.htm" rel="nofollow">Richmond County Clerk</a>, despite that grand jury proceedings since the 17<sup>th</sup> century have been kept secret. In addition, any research into the <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2015/3/4/read_doj_report_on_civil_rights" rel="nofollow">investigation of civil rights violations committed by the Ferguson Police Department</a> would seek documents issued by the Department of Justice, which federal organization also employs the U.S. marshal.</p>
<p>The Milstein Division holds a handful of guidebooks in tracking legal records:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dCourt+records+--+United+States+--+States+--+Direc/dcourt+records+united+states+states+directories/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dcourt+records+united+states+states+directories&amp;1%2C6%2C" target="_blank">Court records -- United States -- States -- Directories</a>.</li>
<li>Court records -- United States.</li>
<li>Court records -- [NAME OF STATE].</li>
<li>Court records – [NAME OF STATE] – [NAME OF COUNTY].</li>
</ul><p>And local history materials are best corralled from the catalog at the town or county level:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dVirginia+City/dvirginia+city/1%2C82%2C162%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dvirginia+city+nev+history&amp;1%2C16%2C/indexsort=-">Virginia City (Nev.) -- History</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dEl+Paso+%28Tex%29/del+paso+tex/1%2C68%2C172%2CB/exact&amp;FF=del+paso+tex+description+and+travel&amp;1%2C7%2C/indexsort=-">El Paso (Tex.) -- Description and travel</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dDo%7bu00F1%7da+Ana+County+%28N.M.%29+--+Genealogy./ddona+ana+county+n+m+genealogy/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=ddona+ana+county+n+m+maps&amp;1%2C6%2C">Dona Ana County (N.M.) -- Maps</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dSebastian+County+%28Ark.%29+--+Genealogy./dsebastian+county+ark+genealogy/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dsebastian+county+ark+genealogy&amp;1%2C2%2C">Sebastian County (Ark.) -- Genealogy</a>.</li>
</ul><div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/7689e317-7c9f-76ce-e040-e00a18066ca1"><img alt="Two men standing in front of a horse and buggy" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1801431&amp;t=w" width="450px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Two men standing in front of a horse and buggy. 1882-1883. Image ID: 1801431.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>“When General Stephen Watts Kearny <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/41859684?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents" rel="nofollow">inaugurated the American system of justice in the Southwest in 1846</a>, he introduced a judiciary long common to Anglo-American civilization.” Under the entry for “law and order,” <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XEncyclopedia+of+the+West++LAmar&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XEncyclopedia+of+the+West++LAmar&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Encyclopedia+of+the+West++LAmar/1%2C6%2C6%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XEncyclopedia+of+the+West++LAmar&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C"><em>The New Encyclopedia of the American West</em></a> says that “pioneers did not create new forms of law and order; rather they continued to use two ancient English institutions: the justice court, headed by the justice of the peace; and a county, or high, sheriff, with powers to collect taxes, deputize citizens, and form a posse.” The English roots of this system are reflected in the word "sheriff," where a “shire” is the one-thousand year old ancestor of “<a href="http://go.galegroup.com.w.ezproxy.nypl.org/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&amp;sort=RELEVANCE&amp;inPS=true&amp;prodId=GVRL&amp;userGroupName=nypl&amp;tabID=T003&amp;searchId=R3&amp;resultListType=RESULT_LIST&amp;contentSegment=&amp;searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&amp;currentPosition=1&amp;contentSet=GALE%7CCX3230000339&amp;&amp;docId=GALE|CX3230000339&amp;docType=GALE">the modern county in the United States</a>,” and “the principal officer of the shire court was the <em>shire reeve</em>.” Ironically, like the U.S. marshal in <em>Silver Lode</em>, the Sheriff of Nottingham is portrayed as the archvillain in the folklore of the radical and righteous bandit Robin Hood. Director <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aDwan%2C+Allan%2C+1885-1981%2C+film+director./adwan+allan+1885+1981+film+director/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=adwan+allan+1885+1981&amp;1%2C16%2C">Allan Dwan</a>, who helmed <em>Silver Lode</em>, <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XRobin+Hood+Douglas+Fairbanks&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XRobin+Hood+Douglas+Fairbanks&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Robin+Hood+Douglas+Fairbanks/1%2C6%2C6%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XRobin+Hood+Douglas+Fairbanks&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;4%2C4%2C">adapted the Robin Hood tale thirty years earlier</a>, starring Douglas Fairbanks. </p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-b640-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Gary Cooper" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=TH-04687&amp;t=w" width="300" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Gary Cooper. Image ID: TH-04687.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>In <em>High Noon</em> (1952) Gary Cooper plays the town marshal, basically the sheriff, though sometimes the nomenclature was scotched, and, like many early genealogical records, the verbiage more pragmatic than official. Bad Ben Miller seeks revenge on the marshal, but the townspeople, who elected the law-bringer by popular vote and attended his wedding, refuse to support him against the brigands. </p>
<p>When Wyatt Earp, his two brothers, and tubercular ex-dentist rifleman Doc Holliday killed Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers at the O.K. Corral, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona, Earp had been deputized a U.S. marshal. Surely no heroic showdown between the good and the bad, prolific oater-epicist <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aMcMurtry%2C+Larry./amcmurtry+larry/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=amcmurtry+larry&amp;1%2C121%2C">Larry McMurtry</a> described the ugly gunfight as little more than a "<a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2005/mar/24/back-to-the-ok-corral/" rel="nofollow">botched arrest</a>." Earp was later indicted in Pima County, AZ, for the vendetta killing of Frank Stilwell, whom had back-shot brother Morgan Earp in 1882. With regards to how folks like to remember the old West, it may be a sign that the NYPL catalog shows 28 entries under the subject heading <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dCochise+County+%28Ariz.%29+--+History./dcochise+county+ariz+history/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dcochise+county+ariz+fiction&amp;1%2C28%2C">Cochise County (Ariz.) – Fiction</a>, but only 5 for <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dCochise+County+%28Ariz.%29+--+History./dcochise+county+ariz+history/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dcochise+county+ariz+history&amp;1%2C5%2C">Cochise County (Ariz.) -- History</a>.</p>
<div style="text-align:center">
<figure class="caption caption caption"><img alt="Map of Cochise County. The Oasis. " title="Map of Cochise County. The Oasis. " height="533" width="350" class="media-element file-default" src="http://cdn-prod.www.aws.nypl.org/sites/default/files/5%20Cochise%20County%20Map_The%20Oasis.jpg" /><figcaption>Map of Cochise County. The Oasis. </figcaption></figure></div>
<p><a href="http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&amp;Movie=51723" rel="nofollow"><em>Wichita</em></a> (1955) is a cinematic Wyatt Earp origin story, where the burgeoning Kansas cattle town has plenty of saloons but no medical doctor, and the current marshal is a yellowbelly, which is an advantage when the ruffian cattle drivers swoop into town, drain the supply of whiskey, and start shooting up the place. After a stray bullet kills a young boy, Wyatt Earp takes up the marshal’s badge and gun, jails the sozzled cowpokes, and bans firearms within city limits. These were the powers of the marshal, whether local or federal; and he often did not just run the jail, but sometimes also resided in the building with his family.</p>
<div style="text-align:center">
<figure class="caption caption caption"><img alt="Wichita City Eagle" title="Wichita City Eagle" height="250" width="482" class="media-element file-default" src="http://cdn-prod.www.aws.nypl.org/sites/default/files/6%20Wichita%20CityEagle.jpg" /><figcaption>The Wichita City Eagle. 1873.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>From the 1789 Judiciary Act, when the office of U.S. Marshal was established, to roughly the 1850s, when the territory of New Mexico was created, the marshal carried out the modern duties of the post office, FBI, and Secret Service. In the antebellum years the marshal enforced the Fugitive Slave Act and postbellum the Civil Rights Act. He was an agent of the courts, a server of subpoenas and warrants of eviction, an overseer of prisoners, supervisor of elections, collector of taxes, and, for some time, most relevant to the historian of family history, the marshal took the census. The inaugural 1790 census was compiled by 650 federal marshals, who spent 18 months trekking the 13 states and enumerated 3.9 million residents.</p>
<p>Presently, city marshals in the five boroughs are appointed by the Mayor and regulated by the corruption-busting <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/doi/html/home/home.shtml" rel="nofollow">Department of Investigation</a>, but are <a href="http://a856-gbol.nyc.gov/GBOLWebsite/133.html" rel="nofollow">described as neither employees of the city</a> nor the Civil Court. Like U.S. marshals before 1896, they earn funds by a system of fees. Marshals both east and west collected fees based on court duties and service of process, in what was part of the “entrepreneurial” system of law enforcement, versus the bureaucratic and municipal system codified by the onset of the early 20<sup>th</sup> century. In addition, central authority west of the Mississippi was dwarfed by the zealous and domineering control of private industry, which also paid for security with greater dispatch than Uncle Sam. As Southern California chronicler <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aMcWilliams%2C+Carey%2C+1905-/amcwilliams+carey+1905/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=amcwilliams+carey+1905&amp;1%2C38%2C">Carey McWilliams</a> writes in “Myths of the West,” his debunking 1931 essay, “the cattle companies captured Nevada after 1861; Montana was merely the alter ego of the Anaconda Copper Company until recent years; the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company ruled Colorado during its formative period; while in Idaho and Wyoming the Union Pacific played the villain.”</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-ee2e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="An Arizona Cowboy" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1610053&amp;t=w" width="300px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">An Arizona Cowboy. Image ID: 1610053.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>In the opening courtroom sequences of <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XTrue+Grit&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XTrue+Grit&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=True+Grit/1%2C65%2C65%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XTrue+Grit&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;5%2C5%2C"><em>True Grit</em></a>, the 2010 adaptation of the 1968 novel, U.S. marshal Rooster Cogburn is accused by an Ozarks counselor of exploiting his federal authority in several questionably justified shootings. Marshal Cogburn is gruff and unapologetic. The local sheriff describes him as mean, pitiless, and “double tough.” But such was the beleaguered bathos of a late 19th century U.S. marshal, that Cogburn lives in the cramped backroom of a Chinese grocery and haggles reward money with a 14 year-old girl out to avenge the murder of her father.</p>
<p>In the old western district of Arkansas, families of slain deputies received no compensation from the government, and marshals received no fees if they failed to capture their fugitive, no matter the travel and time expended, nor were they paid if the fugitive was killed during the act of apprehension. Pulp writers and eyepatch-clad Hollywood directors would stretch the legacy of the entrepreneurial system into the pop mythos of cheroot-smoking bounty hunters, leather-jawed freebooters, and ivory-handled guns-for-hire. </p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-f6d4-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Sunset magazine." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1258913&amp;t=w" width="300px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Sunset magazine. Image ID: 1258913.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>New York City continues to run a <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/site/finance/sheriff-courts/sheriff-courts.page" rel="nofollow">Sheriff’s Office</a>, which Alfred E. Smith once occupied as a patronage gift from Tammany Hall at $50,000. a year, in the years prior to Sheriff Smith’s garnering the NY Governorship.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/b9b8db5c-2507-0160-e040-e00a18064d4a"><img alt="Sheriff Alfred E. Smith at his desk on his first day in office. " src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=3997994&amp;t=w" width="450" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Sheriff Alfred E. Smith at his desk on his first day in office. Image ID: 3997994.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>In Manhattan one still finds Sheriff Street, between Houston and Stanton and bisected by the Samuel Gompers Houses to continue one block under the Williamsburg Bridge. The city <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aLudwig%2C+John+W./aludwig+john+w/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=aludwig+john+w&amp;1%2C%2C3">named Sheriff Street in honor of Marinus Willett</a>, a swashbuckling New York City Tory-fighter who led the Sons of Liberty radicals in sacking the British arsenal in occupied Manhattan, invaded Canada, fought under General Washington at Monmouth, and held the esteemed office of Sheriff of the City and County of New York in 1784-1788 and again in 1792-1796. In between these terms, President Washington sent Willett south to Georgia to <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/cre1790.asp" rel="nofollow">treaty with the Creek Nation</a>. The street runs through the old 13<sup>th</sup> Ward, in the Southeast frontier of the island where Sheriff Willett lived after the war. </p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-252c-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Residence of the late Col. Marinus Willett, Mayor of New York in 1807-8." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=424296&amp;t=w" width="450px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Residence of the late Col. Marinus Willett, Mayor of New York in 1807-8. Image ID: 424296.</figcaption></figure></div>
<h3><strong>Bibliography</strong></h3>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XAnnual+Reports+of+the+Attorney+General&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XAnnual+Reports+of+the+Attorney+General&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Annual+Reports+of+the+Attorney+General/1%2C12%2C12%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XAnnual+Reports+of+the+Attorney+General&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;4%2C4%2C">Annual Report of the Attorney General of the United States</a>.</p>
<p>Ball, Larry D. “Frontier Sheriffs at Work.” <em>The Journal of Arizona History</em>. Vol. 27, No. 3, Autumn 1986.</p>
<p>Ball, Larry D. “Pioneer Lawman: Crawley P. Dake and Law Enforcement on the Southwestern Frontier.” <em>The Journal of Arizona History</em>. Vol. 14, No. 3, Autumn 1973.</p>
<p>Cooley, Rita W. “The Office of United States Marshal.” <em>The Western Political Quarterly</em>. Vol. 12, No. 1, Mar. 1959.</p>
<p>Dressler, Joshua (ed.) <em>Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice.</em> Vol. 2. 2nd ed. NY: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002.</p>
<p>Eichholz, Alice (ed.) <em>Red Book: American state, county, and town sources</em>. Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004.</p>
<p>Jordan, P.D. “The Town Marshal Local Arm of the Law.” <em>Arizona and the West</em>. Vol. 16, No. 4, Winter 1974.</p>
<p>Lamar, Howard R. (ed.) <em>The New Encyclopedia of the American West</em>. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.</p>
<p>Malone, Dumas (ed.) <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XDictionary+of+American+Biography+Malone&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XDictionary+of+American+Biography+Malone&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=Dictionary+of+American+Biography+Malone/1%2C3%2C3%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XDictionary+of+American+Biography+Malone&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;3%2C3%2C" target="_blank"><em>Dictionary of American Biography</em></a><em>. </em>Vol XX. NY: Scribner, 1928-1958.</p>
<p>McMurtry, Larry. "<a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2005/mar/24/back-to-the-ok-corral/" rel="nofollow">Back to the O.K. Corral</a>." <em>New York Review of Books</em>. March 24, 2005.</p>
<p>Sankey, Michael (ed.) <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XBRB+guide+to+county+court+record&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XBRB+guide+to+county+court+record&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=BRB+guide+to+county+court+record/1%2C5%2C5%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XBRB+guide+to+county+court+record&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C" target="_blank"><em>BRB's guide to county court records</em></a> <em>: a national resource to criminal, civil, and probate records found at the nation's county, parish, and municipal courts</em>. BRB Publications, Inc. 2011.</p>
Genealogyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/03/09/lawmen-badmen-sheriffs-marshals#commentsMon, 09 Mar 2015 17:40:50 -040020 Reasons Why You Should Write Your Family Historyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/02/09/reasons-to-write-your-family-history
Carmen Nigro, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-d8cd-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Family History" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=417071&amp;t=w" width="500" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Hungarian Family at Ellis Island, all of whom were deported. 1905. Image ID: 417071</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>If you have done any family history research, such as looking for records on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org or <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/01/07/conducting-interviews-genealogical-research">conducting interviews</a> with older family members, you may have pondered writing about your genealogy research. Here are 20 reasons why you should cease pondering and start writing:</p>
<h3>You’ll feel wiser.</h3>
<p>In 2014, ⅓ online adults used the Internet to learn more about their family history.<br />
67% said that knowing their family history has made them feel wiser as a person.<br />
72% said it helped them be closer to older relatives.<br />
52% said they discovered ancestors they had not known about.<br />
Ancestry.com, <em><a href="http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2014/12/08/ancestry-global-family-history-report/" rel="nofollow">Global Study of Users</a></em>, 2014</p>
<h3>First person narratives and family histories are important historical documents.</h3>
<p>“You are doing a service by leaving a legacy, no matter how small or large.”<br />
“The interesting stories in your life have become familiar to you… The novelty of these stories is most apparent to someone hearing them for the first time.”<br /><em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b20302880~S1">The Story of You: A Guide for Writing Your Personal Stories and Family History</a></em>, John Bond, 2014</p>
<h3>You are an important person. You have things to pass on, to your children, to your local history society, to unknown future generations.</h3>
<p>“The entire story of mankind has come to us from individual voices from the past.”<br /><em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b13693041~S1">Family Focused: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Your Autobiography and Family History</a>,</em> Janice T. Dixon, 1997</p>
<h3>You and your family are important to somebody, probably many somebodies.</h3>
<p>“Just watch... ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ to see how many ways one life touches so many others. The few families on the Mayflower probably produced more than 20 million descendants.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b20302880~S1"><em>The Story of You: A Guide for Writing Your Personal Stories and Family History</em></a>, John Bond, 2014</p>
<h3>Family trees are abstract. Stories add depth.</h3>
<p>“It makes names into real, live people. Family stories help you and your family become more than a birth and a death date.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b20302880~S1"><em>The Story of You: A Guide for Writing Your Personal Stories and Family History</em></a>, John Bond, 2014</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-ac40-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Jeter Family" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1235217&amp;t=w" width="300px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">The Jeter Family in 1901. Image ID: 1235217</figcaption></figure></div>
<h3>Memories over time become fragmented and distorted. People may not remember the things you told them but did not write down.</h3>
<p>“I am not famous or rich, but I still want to be remembered.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b13693041~S1"><em>Family Focused: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Your Autobiography and Family History</em></a>, Janice T. Dixon, 1997</p>
<h3>Writing your family history gives you the chance to depict your ancestors how you see fit.</h3>
<p>“You cannot write our story. You have no right.”<br />
In 2004, Native Americans react to depictions of their ancestors in documents about Lewis &amp; Clark.<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15260953~S1"><em>History New</em>s</a>, Summer 2014</p>
<h3>There is a need for diverse family histories about those who have not been represented well in history texts.</h3>
<p>“For members of marginalized groups, speaking personally and truthfully about our lives plays a small part in erasing years of invisibility and interpretation by others.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b17377022~S1"><em>Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art</em></a>, Judith Barrington, 1997</p>
<h3>There is a need for more family histories documenting female lines.</h3>
<p>“The traditional descendants-of genealogy usually begins with the immigrant and follows descendants for some number of generations. Often they have a paternalistic bent and follow only male descendants who bore the surname….In the future we hope to see less short-changing of maternal lines and collateral lines in published material.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b12556779~S1"><em>Producing a Quality Family History</em></a>, Patricia Law Hatcher, 1996</p>
<h3>There is a need for more family histories about families who are not affluent.</h3>
<p>“Genealogical publishing [in the past] was accessible primarily to the affluent…. Modern genealogists are researching ancestors who are relatively recent immigrants, landless, illiterate, living on the frontier or migrating. There seems to be a trend away from idealizing our ancestors.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b12556779~S1"><em>Producing a Quality Family History</em></a><em>,</em> Patricia Law Hatcher, 1996</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5f3569b1-6adf-9f74-e040-e00a1806304a"><img alt="Painute" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1690994&amp;t=w" width="300px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Paiute Family in Yosemite, circa 1900. Image ID: 1690994</figcaption></figure></div>
<h3>Family histories humanize the people you know or knew and remember for those who did not know them.</h3>
<p>“The generations slipped away as I shared her grief for a moment. In reading her words I felt closer to my grandmother than I ever have.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b13693041~S1"><em>Family Focused: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Your Autobiography and Family History</em></a>, Janice T. Dixon, 1997</p>
<h3>Information raises questions. Genealogy research has brought new facts into your life.</h3>
<p>“They research and write down when and where mom and dad were married. I don’t want to say accurate facts aren’t important, but I do question priorities here. The facts, or at least the important facts, of mom and dad’s marriage were not where and when it took place but what they made of it.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b12582325~S1"><em>For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History</em></a>, Charley Kempthorne, 1996</p>
<h3>It may help you understand your current family dynamics.</h3>
<p>“I spent a year writing my story which is also my mother’s story and the story of our family. It was a most enlightening time for me, one I treasure, because it forced me to look at my life, re-shape it in many ways, and to laugh at things that I had taken so seriously before. I matured in many ways and became more tolerant and caring. It also freed me from some of my doubts and fears.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b13693041~S1"><em>Family Focused: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Your Autobiography and Family History</em></a>, Janice T. Dixon, 1997</p>
<h3>It will help you build or solidify a sense of family.</h3>
<p>“I suggest that family history is more important than any other history simply because family is the fundamental, rock-bottom unit of society.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b12582325~S1"><em>For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History</em></a>, Charley Kempthorne, 1996</p>
<h3>Writing is reflective. Writing is investing in yourself.</h3>
<p>“In writing your personal history, you put perspective and purpose in your life. You begin to understand yourself better than you ever have.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b13693041~S1"><em>Family Focused: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Your Autobiography and Family History</em></a>, Janice T. Dixon, 1997</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/f3912850-5dbb-0130-c2e1-58d385a7b928"><img alt="Cowboy writing" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=5027900&amp;t=w" width="300px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Cowboy writing in a notebook, 1909. Image ID: 5027900</figcaption></figure></div>
<h3>It can be therapeutic.</h3>
<p>“Studies show that writing about oneself and personal experiences can improve mood disorders, help reduce symptoms among cancer patients, improve a person’s health after a heart attack, reduce doctor visits and even boost memory…. Writing -- and then rewriting -- your personal story can lead to behavioral changes and improve happiness.”<br /><em>New York Times</em>, "<a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/" rel="nofollow">Writing Your Way To Happiness</a>," Tara Parker-Pope, January 19, 2015</p>
<h3>Don’t take for granted that the lives of your ancestors are lost. Evidence of the people they have been exists somewhere and is discoverable.</h3>
<p>“Virtually all my finds have been made from old manuscripts in public repositories and have been of the family moving, not in the company of celebrities…, but among people as little known to fame as themselves.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15650264~S1"><em>How to Write a Family History: The Lives and Times of Our Ancestors,</em></a> Terrick FitzHugh, 1988</p>
<h3>“It will have a wider impact than you might imagine.”</h3>
<p>After publishing some of her family histories and donating to libraries and archives, author Penny Stratton heard from other researchers that they had found leads and data in her writings.<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18438537~S1"><em>American Ancestors</em></a><em>,</em> Spring 2014</p>
<h3>Family members and even distant cousins may become more forward in contributing documents, photos, and stories for your genealogical research.</h3>
<p>“It’s cousin-bait.”<br /><a href="http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/dear-randy-why-do-you-write-about-your.html" rel="nofollow"><em>Genea-Musings</em></a>, “Why Do You Write About Your Personal Research?” Randy Seaver, January 2015</p>
<h3>You will be encouraged to archive and preserve the documents on which your family history research is based: certificates, letters, diaries, etc.</h3>
<p>“These documents function within the family in the same way that important documents of our common history function within the nation.”<br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b12582325~S1"><em>For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History</em></a>, Charley Kempthorne, 1996</p>
<p><em>Writing Your Family History</em> is a class offered by the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/divisions/milstein">Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy</a>. Please check our <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/divisions/milstein">website</a> for upcoming dates. If you have a family history that you would like to donate to libraries, consider the New York Public Library (<a href="http://www.nypl.org/about/divisions/milstein/faqs">details on our FAQ</a>) and the <a href="http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/gifts.html" rel="nofollow">Library of Congress</a>.</p>
Historyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/02/09/reasons-to-write-your-family-history#commentsMon, 09 Feb 2015 15:58:01 -0500Jersey Genealogy: A Research Guide Using Local History Collectionshttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/02/09/new-jersey-genealogy-guide
Andy McCarthy, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/b7626f27-60ad-efc2-e040-e00a18060a83"><img alt="Hudson County Atlas, Bayonne." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=3991145&amp;t=w" width="450px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Atlas of Hudson County, Bayonne, NJ. 1919. Image ID: 3991145</figcaption></figure></div>
<blockquote>
<p>“: a local pride; spring, summer, fall and the sea; a confession…” - William Carlos Williams, <em>Paterson</em>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In 1609, Dutch explorer Henry Hudson sailed west from the port of Galway Bay in search of a northwest passage to Indo-Russia. Crossing the Atlantic, Hudson instead found northeast passage to New Jersey. The explorer sent men inland who returned with red and green tomatoes the size of bowling balls which they had seized from the food supplies of the Seminole indigenous tribes whom inhabited the stretch of Pine Bogs along the Union City River. Returning to Europe, Hudson and his men distributed their booty of tomatoes on the black markets of the Midlands and the Andalusian steppe, where the fruit eventually found its way to Southern Italy. So goes the genealogy of the pasta sauce.</p>
<p>Confused? Alarmed? Enlightened? If the truth of these facts provokes questioning, the local history resources related to New Jersey available in the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/divisions/milstein">New York Public Library's Milstein Division</a> might prove a useful pursuit. The division holds an abundance of genealogical and historical material related to the state once known as a “barrel tapped at both ends,” given the migratory magnetism of the neighboring Big Apple and City of Brotherly Love.</p>
<p>Perhaps familiar to New Yorkers as a garden state of smokestacks, or surrogate playing field for the Jets and Giants, or otherworld of childhood memory, New Jersey bucks understanding from without and blinkers perspective from within. It is where Albert Einstein died and Joe Pesci was born; during the American Revolution, the colony was defended by the rebel father of Robert E. Lee and governed in exile by the Tory son of Benjamin Franklin; South Mountain Reservation in West Orange served as the shooting locale for <em>The Great Train Robbery</em> (1903), the archetype of movie westerns, produced by Thomas Edison, whose 60,000 square foot lab was down the hill off Northfield Avenue; and in 1981 Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco along Kittatinny Ridge in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area was the setting of grade-Z slasher franchise <em>Friday the 13<sup>th</sup></em>. “<a href="http://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/sinatra-american-icon">The Voice” turns 100 this year</a>, and the ref desk in Room 121 is ready for questions on The Chairman’s <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dSinatra%2C+Frank%2C+1915-1998./dsinatra+frank+1915+1998/1%2C20%2C206%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dsinatra+frank+1915+1998&amp;1%2C137%2C">family history</a> or his history with <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dMafia./dmafia/197%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dmafia+new+jersey+case+studies&amp;1%2C6%2C">the Family</a>.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-right align-right inline inline">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-edb8-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="My Jersey Lily." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1257088&amp;t=w" width="200px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Image ID: 1257088</figcaption></figure></div>
<ul><li><a href="#collections" rel="nofollow">Collections</a></li>
<li><a href="#localhistory" rel="nofollow">Local History</a></li>
<li><a href="#landuse" rel="nofollow">Land Use</a></li>
<li><a href="#library" rel="nofollow">Library Resources</a></li>
<li><a href="#vital" rel="nofollow">Vital Records</a></li>
<li><a href="#land" rel="nofollow">Land Records</a></li>
<li><a href="#news" rel="nofollow">Newspapers &amp; Periodicals</a></li>
<li><a href="#census" rel="nofollow">Census Records</a></li>
<li><a href="#directories" rel="nofollow">City Directories</a></li>
<li><a href="#indigenous" rel="nofollow">Indigenous Peoples</a></li>
<li><a href="#ethnicity" rel="nofollow">Religion, Racial and Ethnic Subjects</a></li>
<li><a href="#handbooks" rel="nofollow">Handbooks</a></li>
<li><a href="#other" rel="nofollow">Other Resources</a></li>
</ul><h2><strong><a id="collections" name="collections"></a>Collections</strong></h2>
<p>While New Jersey was the first Mid-Atlantic state to legislate the registry of vital record information, in 1848, and the third in the U.S., it also has been lamented as infamously underdocumented, with gaping holes in the record because of British destruction of courthouses, churches and county repositories in the Revolutionary War, in addition to patterns of delinquent recordkeeping. 19<sup>th</sup> century Boards of Freeholders have been known to sell off pension documents as waste paper, and county clerks to chuck out marriage records over 20 years old. In 1997, using a calculation based on the ratio of historical publications to state population, the Task Force on New Jersey History determined that New Jersey ranked the lowest of the original thirteen states. However, as noted by legion NJ genealogist Kenn Stryker-Rodda, NYPL, in combination with the NY Historical Society and Brooklyn Historical Society, contains more “unofficial documents” on New Jersey than all the collections within the state itself.</p>
<p>“New Jersey genealogy,” says Stryker-Rodda, “is not for the lazy minded, the unimaginative, or those who demand quick results.” Collections in the Milstein Division now include the humongous addition of the unique Jersey resources formerly housed at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Yet, while the NYPL catalog lists 121 entries under the subject heading “New Jersey—History,” searching “New York (N.Y.)–History” brings up 781 entries. The spike in curatorship of New York City’s past since the 1970s has yielded hundreds of documentaries, microhistories, neighborhood blogs, targeted guidebooks and revisionist museum exhibits, while in comparison New Jersey has benefited briefly from the best show in TV history, <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dOrganized+crime+--+New+Jersey+--+Atlantic+City./dorganized+crime+new+jersey+atlantic+city/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dorganized+crime+new+jersey&amp;1%2C7%2C"><em>The Sopranos</em></a>, to the worst, <em>Jersey Shore</em>.</p>
<p>New Jersey materials have been a highlight of research collection policy at the Local History and Genealogy Division since the inception of the New York Public Library. Whether appreciated or unfairly deprecated, the proximity to New York City, a symbiotic early colonial history, and a major legacy of cross-migration and industrial connections, qualifies New Jersey’s past at NYPL as local history.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/http://digital.nypl.org/mmpco/searchresultsK.cfm?&amp;trg=2&amp;image_id=810062&amp;title=To%20connect%20New%20York%20and%20Jersey%20City%20%3A%20a%20proposed%20double-deck%20vehicular%20tunnel%20under%20the%20Hudson%20River%2E&amp;strucID=579351&amp;dstart=26&amp;keyword=jersey&amp;NUM=25"><img alt=" a proposed double-deck vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River (1919)." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=810062 &amp;t=w" width="450px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Proposed NYC-NJ Tunnel. 1919. Image ID: 810062</figcaption></figure></div>
<h2><strong><a id="localhistory" name="localhistory"></a>Local History</strong></h2>
<p>With a total area of 4.8 million acres, and 1,200 inhabitants per square mile, New Jersey is the most densely populated state in America. In land area only larger than Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island, New Jersey tallies 8.8 million people within <a href="http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/LND110210/00,34" rel="nofollow">7,355 square miles</a>; roughly twice the amount of residents of Ireland but nearly one-fourth the size.</p>
<p>New Jersey is a peninsula, with only 48 miles of border out of a total 480 that are land-based. Traditionally, migration to New Jersey was aquatic; into the ports of Newark and Perth Amboy from Long Island and New England, down the Passaic River from New York State , and up or across the Delaware River from Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>What colonial proprietors in the 17<sup>th</sup> and 18<sup>th</sup> centuries once officially delineated as East and West Jersey is today perceived in the idioms of North and South Jersey. North Jersey is roughly the seaport crook of hyperpopulation and industry that converges with New York City, with the stretch of Highlands bordering New York State that includes a patch of the Appalachian Trail. South Jersey is anchored in Delaware Bay by Cape May, flanked at the ocean by Atlantic City and coordinated east of Philadelphia across the Delaware River by the city of Camden. The state capital of Trenton is too equatorial to easily fit in either domain, and the New Jersey coastline, “down the shore,” from Sandy Hook Bay down to Cape May, straddles both sections, whether proprietary or imaginary. Summerers in Belmar, N.J. refer to Union County as “up north,” while on a clear day the Rockaways in Queens might be visible from the beach, and Atlantic City is still a two hour drive south.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-919b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Bayonne Bridge" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=730854F&amp;t=w" width="350px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Bayonne Bridge. Image ID: 730854F</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>New Jersey was known as the “Corridor State” in the American Revolution, the “connector of North and South.” If the Mason-Dixon line had extended to the Atlantic Ocean, six counties in New Jersey would fall south of the border. Conversely, between 1685-1692, Boston was the capital of New Jersey, when King James, the former Duke of York, corralled all the New England colonies under one short-lived dominion. In the Civil War era NJ was sometimes referred to as a “border state” because of its strong Democratic politics and softness on slavery. When George McClellan, former Major-General of the Union Army, ran against President Lincoln on the Democratic ticket in 1864, he lived in West Orange, NJ.</p>
<p>In the late 18th and early 19th century, Jersey gave women and blacks suffrage rights equal to white male property-owners, on <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dElections+--+New+Jersey./delections+new+jersey/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=delections+new+jersey&amp;6%2C%2C20">an alleged typographical error</a> that was soon revoked, and was “the last state in the north <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XWords+That+Make+New+Jersey+History&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XWords+That+Make+New+Jersey+History&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Words+That+Make+New+Jersey+History/1%2C3%2C3%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XWords+That+Make+New+Jersey+History&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C">to abolish slavery</a>.” However, the inductive Quaker presence in early East Jersey led to the subtle initiation of free African-Americans as landowners in the Shrewsbury area south of the Navesink River. Monmouth County Deed Books show multiple real estate transactions involving free blacks, dating just before passage of the Gradual Abolition Act (1804) through the end of the Civil War. The town of Fair Haven was a viable active black community where locals organized as trustees of schools and the Methodist Episcopal Mount Zion Church.</p>
<h2><strong><a id="landuse" name="landuse"></a>Land Use</strong></h2>
<p>Colonial land transactions are the key but controversial legacy around which much of the local and genealogical history of early New Jersey revolves. As recounted in numerous writings on early Jersey history, the territory formally originated as an English colony with two separate claims to the land.</p>
<p>In 1664, anticipating the submission of the Dutch West India Company to British forces, King Charles II granted northeast regions in the New World to his brother, James, Duke of York, while those areas were still known as New Netherland. New Amsterdam and Fort Orange upstate were increasing in size and consequence, while the central areas west of the lower Hudson River were inhabited by the Unami, the Turtle Clan; north by the Minsis, the Wolf Clan; and southwest by Unalachtigo tribes, the Turkey clan. These Delaware Indians outnumbered the additional handful of Germans and Scandinavians in 1660s NJ. The Pavonia Massacre in 1643, when Dutch marauders slaughtered Lenni Lenape men, women and children in modern Jersey City, was one of several imperial acts which disposed the Indian tribes in Jersey lands as violently intolerant of Dutch colonists, whom generally stayed out of in fear of attacks.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-0d38-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Massacre of Indians at Pavonia." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=834404&amp;t=w" width="450px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Massacre of Indians at Pavonia. Image ID: 834404</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>The Duke of York, also known as the Duke of Albany, was appointed lord high admiral after the Restoration, and fervently supervised the operations of the English navy to out-contend the supremacy in world trade of the Dutch, with whom England feuded in 1652, then 1665, and again in 1672. In the New World, King Charles assumed the right to overrule colonial authority, alter boundaries, and seize territory by conquest. The King granted James “an astonishing assortment of lands extending <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/tThe+Province+of+East+New+Jersey%2C+1609-1702/tprovince+of+east+new+jersey+1609+1702/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=tprovince+of+east+new+jersey+1609+1702+the+rebelious+proprietary&amp;1%2C1%2C/indexsort=-">from the St. Lawrence to the Delaware</a>.” Before the Dutch surrendered their port colony, having been promised English citizenship under royal oath in exchange for sustaining the well-established Dutch court system, the Duke of York conveyed land-granting powers to incipient Governor Richard Nicholls, who issued the “Duke’s Laws,” renamed the colony, and referred to New Jersey as “Albania.”</p>
<p>Nicholls validated the 1664 purchase between Long Island settlers John Ogden, John Bailey, Daniel Denton and Luke Watson, and <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dIndian+land+transfers+--+New+Jersey./dindian+land+transfers+new+jersey/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=dindian+land+transfers+new+jersey&amp;5%2C%2C6">Lenni Lenape real estate agents</a> Mattano Manamowaouc and Couesccoman, for 500,000 acres of land in what was once a scarcely colonized sprawl of New Netherland between the Raritan and Passaic Rivers, and which would later form the counties of Essex and Union. The men were now freeholders of the flatlands west of the Hudson River, and formed what would be known as the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dLand+grants+--+New+Jersey./dland+grants+new+jersey/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=dland+grants+new+jersey+elizabeth&amp;1%2C1%2C">Elizabethtown Associates</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, soon after the departure of Nicholls from English ports, the Duke of York, flush with the megalomania of impending conquest, was seized with magnanimity. Having just empowered Nicholls to issue land patents in his new domain, the Duke, apparently without any sense of contradiction, bestowed the lands of Albania to loyal friends from the Admiralty, Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley, who received the vast acreage in the form of a proprietorship. Sir George got “East Jersey” and Lord John “West Jersey,” which divisions, in various permutations, would characterize the state through the 21<sup>st</sup> century.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-f189-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Map of East and West Jersey. 1682." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=433742&amp;t=w" width="450px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Map of East and West Jersey. 1682. Image ID: 433742</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>The divisions were split by a roughly 45 degree boundary line between Little Egg Harbor and Minisink Island in the Delaware River, today in Sussex County.</p>
<p>Lord Berkeley had been loyal to the Stuart brothers when Cromwell drove out the monarchy, and joined Charles and James in exile on the Isle of Jersey, near the coast of France, which was the domain of Sir George Carteret, later to hold the office of Treasurer of the British Navy.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-256e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="His Royal Highness James Duke of York and Albany." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=423111&amp;t=w" width="300px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">His Royal Highness, James, Duke of York and Albany. Image ID: 423111</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Sir George and Lord John were invested with shareholding rights within their divisions, the authority to collect remunerations for the use of the property, and the ability to transfer proprietorship to other parties. However, this arrangement would have voided any title obtained in the manner of the freeholders who purchased land under the Nicholls grant, known as “headrights,” and instead would have beheld the settlers to “quit-rent” payments to the proprietors rather than ownership.</p>
<p>Hopefully, so far, this geo-narrative sounds perplexing, and that any inquiries or requests for clarification will be directed to the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/divisions/milstein">reference desk in Room 121 of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building</a>.</p>
<p>The years 1664 to 1702 form the first period of dispute and civic upheaval over the proprietary claims to the lands of East and West Jersey. Before Nicholls was finally made aware of the Duke’s deal with Carteret and Berkeley, due to the lumbering dispatch of letters via oceanic passage, the Governor had authorized the sale of numerous Jersey lands both East and West. An increasing amount of settlers claimed that the Duke had never properly owned the land, the proprietorship was false, and no rent should be due.</p>
<p>Little resolution was achieved, including the name of the settlement. The proprietors claimed that Elizabethtown was named for the wife of Sir George, while the ex-Long Islanders claimed the provenance in honor of the Queen. Still, the territory acquired its etymological ancestor from the isle birthplace of Sir George Carteret, <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b20476569~S1"><em>Nova Caesarea</em></a>, New Caesarea, New Jaesarea, New Jersey.</p>
<p>The “Concessions and Agreements” issued in 1665 by the Jersey proprietors provided for a registry of land transactions and the guarantee of “liberty of conscience” and freedom of religion. Persecuted and ambitious Quakers settled rampantly in West Jersey, and Newark was founded by Congregationalists sailing into the Passaic River from the puritanically constricted settlements of Connecticut. Though a more indiscriminate mandate on religion was proffered in order to attract more settlers, whom arrived chiefly from Long Island and New England, atheists were not tolerated. It may be that today atheists are better tolerated in New Jersey than settlers from Long Island or New England…</p>
<p>Original trustees such as the Elizabethtown Associates were ineluctably forced to reckon the political and economic disposition of the proprietary system, which was rooted in English plantation laws and the feudal relationship between owners and tenants. But little had been codified in distinguishing the right to political office and legislative decision in relation to the conveyance of land title. Both sides invested their own idea of land rights with political consequence, and confusion between the act of land-holding and the right to govern was sustained. The trustees contended that the Duke’s gift to the Lords was simply a “grant of the soil,” with no transfer of governmental powers. The Council of Proprietors sought to enforce laws and create political bodies while collecting quitrent payments, akin to dues for occupation and husbandry of the land, often in the form of barrels of pork.</p>
<p>In 1670, Philip Carteret, a young cousin of Sir George, debarked at New Jersey as a representative of the proprietors, assumed the role of governor of both East and West Jersey, yet, ironically, soon bought into the Elizabethtown Associates, which group was disputing the claims of the proprietors. Complicating the gnarled network of antagonisms, New York Governor Sir Edmund Andros demanded that Carteret yield all Jersey authority to New York. Philip balked and asserted that Jersey, though in adherence to the “Duke’s Laws,” garnered its own independent jurisdiction, and as a result, vessels trading in Jersey ports were exempt from paying customs to New York. Governor Sir Edmund Andros did not agree with this, and subsequent to further brinkmanship, ordered gubernatorial henchmen to invade the home of Carteret, drag the Jerseyman from his bed, imprison him in New York State, and administer a vicious drubbing that caused permanent and eventually fatal wounds to <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/Xgovernors+of+new+jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/Xgovernors+of+new+jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=governors+of+new+jersey/1%2C160%2C160%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=Xgovernors+of+new+jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C">New Jersey’s first governor</a>.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-50b3-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="The Landing of Governor Carteret in New Jersey." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1207338&amp;t=w" width="500px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">The Landing of Governor Carteret in New Jersey. Image ID: 1207338</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>The Crown sought to equalize these disagreements in 1702 with the appointment of a Royal Governor of both New York and New Jersey, Lord Cornbury, to whom the proprietors relinquished governmental power. However, disputes continued into the 1730s and 1740s, with land riots in West Jersey and <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1919005?Search=yes&amp;resultItemClick=true&amp;searchText=Origins&amp;searchText=of&amp;searchText=agrarian&amp;searchText=Unrest&amp;searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DOrigins%2Bof%2Bagrarian%2BUnrest%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff%26amp%3Bgroup%3Dnone&amp;seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents" rel="nofollow">the successful jailbreak in Newark</a> of dispossessed yeomen Robert Young and Thomas Sergeant, orchestrated by a determined gathering of three-hundred citizens armed with cudgels and staves. The militia cocked their muskets, the sheriff drew his sword, but the jailbreakers were not attacked and the two men went free.</p>
<p>In the ensuing years, lawsuits neared a resolution, but appeals to the king, claims of errors in the proceedings, and overruled verdicts stalled both clarity and closure.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/Xnew+jersey+Genealogu&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/Xnew+jersey+Genealogu&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=new+jersey+Genealogu/1%2C32000%2C32000%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=Xnew+jersey+Genealogu&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;6%2C6%2C"><em>Historical and Genealogical Miscellany;</em></a><em> Data Relating to the Settlement and Settlers of New York and New Jersey</em> (1903), one of the many compilations of NJ local history available in the Milstein Division, one finds the brief “Discourse By Way of Dialogue between an old Inhabitant of the County of Monmouth and a Proprietor of the Eastern Division of New Jersey.” The succinct dialogue between “William” and a nameless proprietor is contemporary to the 17<sup>th</sup> century and demonstrates the convictions of landowners against the claims of the proprietors:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Pro. </strong> You Will not allow then that King Charles had a Right to the Soil. Therefore the Proprietors none.</p>
<p><strong>Will. </strong> No because he never had it by Discovery Conquest Gift nor Contract. Therefore no right to the Soil.</p>
<p><strong>Pro. </strong> Pray by what title Do you Pretend to hold your Land if not by patent from the Proprietors, Wee hold our Land by an honest Purchase and Consideration paid for.</p>
<p><strong>Will. </strong> A Title Derived from a Charter Granted to the Sons of Adam by the Great and Absolute proprietor of the Whole Universe God almighty and has Stood Recorded In the best record on Earth 3,198 years…</p>
<p><strong>Pro. </strong> Then you Deny that there is any acknowledgement due to the Proprietors?</p>
<p><strong>Will.</strong> Yes Wee Do.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>William’s glib Jersey-style comeback merges a Protestant eco-evangelism with the minutiae of early U.K. land laws.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-2986-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="The Tombstone of Aaron Burr, Princeton, NJ." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=420481&amp;t=w" width="400px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">The Tombstone of Aaron Burr, Princeton, NJ. Image ID: 420481</figcaption></figure></div>
<h2><strong><a id="library" name="library"></a>Library Resources</strong></h2>
<p>When searching the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dDeeds+--+New+Jersey./ddeeds+new+jersey/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=ddeeds+new+jersey&amp;13%2C%2C14">NYPL classic catalog</a> for genealogy materials that relate to a specific region, it is always most useful to conduct subject searches by county name to yield the most comprehensive results:</p>
<ul><li>[NAME OF COUNTY] (N.J.) -- Genealogy.</li>
<li>[NAME OF COUNTY] (N.J.) – History, Local.</li>
<li>[NAME OF COUNTY] (N.J.) -- History.</li>
<li>[NAME OF COUNTY] (N.J.) -- Maps.</li>
<li>[NAME OF COUNTY] (N.J.) – Description and Travel.</li>
</ul><p>For example:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dHunterdon+County+%28N.J.%29/dhunterdon+county+n+j/1%2C23%2C69%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dhunterdon+county+n+j+genealogy&amp;1%2C18%2C/indexsort=-">Hunterdon County (N.J.) – Genealogy</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dCamden+County+%28N.J.%29+--+History%2C+Local./dcamden+county+n+j+history+local/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dcamden+county+n+j+history+local&amp;1%2C2%2C">Camden County (N.J.) -- History, Local</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dAtlantic+County+%28N.J.%29+--+Genealogy./datlantic+county+n+j+genealogy/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=datlantic+county+n+j+history&amp;1%2C10%2C">Atlantic County (N.J.) -- History</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dEssex+County+%28N.J.%29/dessex+county+n+j/1%2C27%2C91%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dessex+county+n+j+directories&amp;1%2C4%2C/indexsort=-">Essex County (N.J.) -- Directories</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dSussex+County+%28N.J.%29/dsussex+county+n+j/1%2C21%2C70%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dsussex+county+n+j+maps&amp;1%2C12%2C/indexsort=-">Sussex County (N.J.) -- Maps</a>.</li>
</ul><p>For a broader sense of Jersey genealogical items in the catalog, start with the below subject headings:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dNew+Jersey+--+Genealogy./dnew+jersey+genealogy/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnew+jersey+genealogy&amp;1%2C319%2C">New Jersey -- Genealogy</a>.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Genealogy -- Indexes.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- History, Local.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- History.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Description and travel.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Biography.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Population -- Statistics.</li>
</ul><p>Materials will include local histories, periodicals, estate records, business information, family trees, travelogues, guidebooks, and anecdotal miscellanea, in addition to official reports on potentially relevant subjects such as environmental conditions, municipal projects, transportation, demographics, and agriculture. Also, the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/divisions/map-division">Map Division</a> is abundant with NJ collections:</p>
<ul><li>[COUNTY] (N.J.) -- Maps.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Maps.</li>
<li>Atlantic Coast (N.J.) -- Maps.</li>
</ul><p>Subject headings are highly useful for grouping together materials on a specific topic, but sometimes are not all-inclusive. Hours could be spent browsing the results of a simple subject search using “New Jersey,” or pairing the state with a topical search term in a keyword search, like “transportation” or “Muslims” or “oysters.” For instance, if a researcher were interested in 19<sup>th</sup> century sources on NJ fraternal organizations, a potentially rich avenue of genealogy or local history, one will not find subject headings which group together the many items in NYPL collections on this subject. Keywords are needed. Pairing the phrase “New Jersey” with keywords like “proceedings” or “organization” or “minutes” will yield more heterogeneous results on private groups, political clubs, and legislative actions.</p>
<p>Many of the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XNew+York+Genealogical+and+Biographical+Society+family+files&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/XNew+York+Genealogical+and+Biographical+Society+family+files&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=New+York+Genealogical+and+Biographical+Society+family+files/1%2C118%2C118%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XNew+York+Genealogical+and+Biographical+Society+family+files&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;1%2C1%2C">Family Files</a> and <a href="http://archives.nypl.org/uploads/collection/pdf_finding_aid/nygbloc.pdf">Locale Files</a> in the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/press/press-release/2008/07/21/new-york-genealogical-and-biographical-society-contributes-its-75000">New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Collection</a> are relevant to New Jersey subjects, and can be especially fruitful when searching a particular family name.</p>
<p>Jersey materials authored or organized by the Roosevelt-era <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aUnited+States.+Work+Projects+Administration+%28N.J.%29/aunited+states+work+projects+administration+n+j/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=aunited+states+work+projects+administration+n+j&amp;1%2C5%2C">Works Progress Administration</a> and <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aFederal+Writers%27+Project+%28N.J.%29/afederal+writers+project+n+j/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=afederal+writers+project+n+j&amp;1%2C8%2C">Federal Writers’ Projects</a> feature:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=t&amp;searcharg=America%3A+The+Dream+of+My+Life&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dCubans+--+New+Jersey+--+West+New+York."><em>America: The Dream of My Life</em></a>, oral history selections from the NJ Ethnic Survey. </li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aNew+Jersey+Historical+Records+Survey+Project./anew+jersey+historical+records+survey+project/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=anew+jersey+historical+records+survey+project&amp;1%2C23%2C">New Jersey Historical Records Survey Project</a>. </li>
<li>The <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=X&amp;searcharg=WPA+Guide+to+NEW+JErsey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=XNewark+civic+and+social+agencies%26SORT%3DD">WPA Guide</a> to the Garden State.</li>
<li>The 32 volumes of <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XNewark+civic+and+social+agencies&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XNewark+civic+and+social+agencies&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Newark+civic+and+social+agencies/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XNewark+civic+and+social+agencies&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C"><em>Newark Civic and Social Agencies</em></a>, edited by the FWP of NJ (1939-1941) in conjunction with the Newark Public Library.</li>
<li><em><a href="http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000866225" rel="nofollow">Inventory of the Municipal Archives of New Jersey</a></em> (1939).</li>
<li>“The New Deal Art Projects in New Jersey,” a 1980 article published in <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/s%22New+Jersey+History%22/snew+jersey+history/1%2C1%2C3%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=snew+jersey+history&amp;1%2C%2C3/indexsort=-">New Jersey History</a>.</em></li>
</ul><div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ba309cea-9600-4288-e040-e00a18066c61"><img alt="Sharpening axes used by the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine. Bloomfield, New Jersey. 1938." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=4001201&amp;t=w" width="300px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine. Bloomfield, NJ. 1938. Farm Security Adminstration photographs. Image ID: 4001201</figcaption></figure></div>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/tCollections+of+the+New+Jersey+Historical+Society+%3B+v.+23./tcollections+of+the+new+jersey+historical+society+v+++23/-53%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=tcollections+of+the+new+jersey+historical+society&amp;1%2C2%2C">Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society</a>, full-text volumes 1-9 (1846- 1916) are available on HathiTrust. Volumes 10-26 (1927-1993) are available by request.</p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XDocuments+Relating+to+the+Colonial%2C+Revolutionary+state+of+new+jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/XDocuments+Relating+to+the+Colonial%2C+Revolutionary+state+of+new+jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=Documents+Relating+to+the+Colonial%2C+Revolutionary+state+of+new+jersey/1%2C3%2C3%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XDocuments+Relating+to+the+Colonial%2C+Revolutionary+state+of+new+jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;1%2C1%2C">Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey</a> / New Jersey Historical Society. 1880-1928. Newark, NJ: <em>Daily Journal</em>. Available in NYPL digital databases, the full run of the <em>Documents</em> is arranged chronologically and each volume is indexed.</p>
<p>The contents of the four volume <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XGenealogical+and+Memorial+History+of+the+State+of+New+Jersey+&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XGenealogical+and+Memorial+History+of+the+State+of+New+Jersey+&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Genealogical+and+Memorial+History+of+the+State+of+New+Jersey+/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XGenealogical+and+Memorial+History+of+the+State+of+New+Jersey+&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C"><em>Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey</em></a> (1910), edited by Francis Bazley Lee, is summed up by its subtitle, “a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation.” The first entry is for the Frelinghuysen family, described as having given New Jersey “more great and distinguished men in proportion to their numerical strength as a body of individuals than almost any other family.” Patriarch Theodorus Jacobus was born in 1691 in East Friesland, ordained a minister in 1715 and three years later charged with leading the congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Raritan Valley. A number of constituents accused Frelinghuysen of heresy because of the askew interpretations of church teachings in his sermons. “Evangelical fervor” combined with a habit of “autonomous actions” characterized the minister’s tenure, along with official complaints, threats of excommunication, and demands for “Peace Articles” that would reckon the domine to the church status quo. Frelinghuysen was an independent but strict mind. Family descendants would include Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, at whose country home in Somerset County President Warren G. Harding signed the 1921 treaty to formally end World War I. Today, an avenue is named for the family out by Newark International Airport.</p>
<p>The Milstein Division holds multiple boxes of historic travel and promotional brochures, arranged by city. This evocative collection is uncataloged and undigitized, but easily accessible by visiting <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/divisions/milstein">Room 121 in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building</a> and inquiring with a reference librarian.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;keywords=%22New+Jersey%22">NYPL online digital gallery</a> features thousands of finely zoomable photos, illustrations, cartographic and atlas collections, portraits, and stereographs. Search the online <a href="http://digital.nypl.org/mmpco/searchresultsK.cfm?keyword=Jersey">Picture Collection</a> for images pulled from books, magazines and newspapers among the 30,000+ visual materials collected at the Mid-Manhattan Library.</p>
<p>It is advisable to search the <a href="http://archives.nypl.org/">NYPL Archives and Manuscripts Home Page</a> for potential New Jersey primary sources. A related stand-out trove is the <a href="http://archives.nypl.org/lhg/22000">Stryker-Rodda collection</a>, comprising the papers of the F.Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald of tri-state area genealogy.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/bac0a75c-24d5-b981-e040-e00a18067fd9"><img alt="Marriage document. 1782. Manuscripts and Archives." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=4005164&amp;t=w" width="400px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Jersey Marriage document. 1782. NYPL Manuscripts and Archives. Image ID: 4005164</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>In addition, the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases">digital databases available at NYPL</a> are serendipitous sources of regional Jersey history, as the below three examples might illustrate:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XA+brief+account+of+the+province+of+East-Jersey+in+America+%3A+published+by+th&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XA+brief+account+of+the+province+of+East-Jersey+in+America+%3A+published+by+th&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=A+brief+account+of+the+province+of+East-Jersey+in+America+%3A+published+by+th/1%2C32000%2C32000%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XA+brief+account+of+the+province+of+East-Jersey+in+America+%3A+published+by+th&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C"><em>A Brief account of the province of East-Jersey in America</em></a><em>, published by the present proprietors thereof, viz, William Penn</em>… (1682) at <a href="http://www.nypl.org/node/251731">Sabin Americana</a>;</li>
<li>The 49 page guidebook <em>All Rail to Long Branch: a work descriptive of the new all-rail route from New York via the New York &amp; Long Branch R.R. to the sea shore of New Jersey, and of the summer metropolis of America</em> (1875) at <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/heritagequest-online">HeritageQuest Online</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XRecords+of+the+Kingwood+Monthly+meeting+of+Friends%2C+Hunterdon+county%2C+New+J&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XRecords+of+the+Kingwood+Monthly+meeting+of+Friends%2C+Hunterdon+county%2C+New+J&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Records+of+the+Kingwood+Monthly+meeting+of+Friends%2C+Hunterdon+county%2C+New+J/1%2C3%2C3%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XRecords+of+the+Kingwood+Monthly+meeting+of+Friends%2C+Hunterdon+county%2C+New+J&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;3%2C3%2C"><em>Records of the Kingwood Monthly meeting of Friends</em></a><em>, Hunterdon County, New Jersey</em>, at the chockfull database <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/hathitrust-digital-library">HathiTrust</a>.</li>
</ul><p>A spike in New Jersey scholarship over the last fifteen years is well reflected in the volumes made available through the library’s account with <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/project-muse">Project Muse</a>, where numerous books and academic anthologies regarding NJ subjects are available to patrons in the research libraries. Most notably invaluable are <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XA+New+Jersey+Anthology+Lurie&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XA+New+Jersey+Anthology+Lurie&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=A+New+Jersey+Anthology+Lurie/1%2C4%2C4%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XA+New+Jersey+Anthology+Lurie&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C"><em>A New Jersey Anthology</em></a> (2010) and <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XLurie+New+Jersey%3A+A+History+of+the+Garden+State&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/XLurie+New+Jersey%3A+A+History+of+the+Garden+State&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=Lurie+New+Jersey%3A+A+History+of+the+Garden+State/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XLurie+New+Jersey%3A+A+History+of+the+Garden+State&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;2%2C2%2C"><em>New Jersey: A History of the Garden State</em></a> (2012), both published by Rutgers University Press and edited by Maxine N. Lurie, professor Emeritus in the Department of History at Seton Hall University.</p>
<div style="text-align:center">
<figure class="caption caption caption"><img alt="Sand Artist, Atlantic City. Brochure Collection, Milstein Division." title="Sand Artist, Atlantic City. Brochure Collection, Milstein Division." height="375" width="500" class="media-element file-default" src="http://cdn-prod.www.aws.nypl.org/sites/default/files/11_Sand%20Artist%2C%20Atlantic%20City.%20Brochure%20Collection%2C%20Milstein%20Division.JPG" /><figcaption>Sand Artist, Atlantic City. Brochure Collection, Milstein Division.</figcaption></figure></div>
<h2><strong><a id="vital" name="vital"></a>Vital Records</strong></h2>
<p>NYPL holds a multitude of sources for early vital records dating prior to 1848, the year NJ passed vital records laws:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dRegisters+of+births%2C+etc.+--+New+Jersey+--+Cranbu/dregisters+of+births+etc+new+jersey+cranbury/-53%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dregisters+of+births+etc+new+jersey&amp;1%2C23%2C">Registers of births, etc. -- New Jersey</a>.</li>
<li>Registers of births, etc. -- New Jersey – [COUNTY OR TOWN].</li>
<li>Church records and registers -- New Jersey – [COUNTY OR TOWN].</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dChurch+records+and+registers+--+New+Jersey+--+Uni/dchurch+records+and+registers+new+jersey+union+county/-53%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=dchurch+records+and+registers+new+jersey+hackensack&amp;3%2C%2C3">[CHURCH NAME (COUNTY OR TOWN, N.J.)</a> .</li>
</ul><div style="text-align:center">
<figure class="caption caption caption"><img alt="Geological Map of NJ." title="Geological Map of NJ." height="555" width="400" class="media-element file-default" src="http://cdn-prod.www.aws.nypl.org/sites/default/files/12_Geological%20Map%20of%20NJ.jpg" /><figcaption><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/b7722054-a544-d816-e040-e00a18063b8b#/?rotate=90">Geological Map of New Jersey</a>. NYPL Map Division. Image ID: 3991172</figcaption></figure></div>
<h2><strong><a id="land" name="land"></a>Land Records</strong></h2>
<p>The controversy over proprietorship versus patent is well-recounted in books, local histories, and the <a href="http://www.nj.gov/state/archives/pdf/proprietors.pdf" rel="nofollow">Guide to the Records of the East and West Jersey Proprietors</a>, only recently processed and made available by the NJ State Archives. Plenty of land records and transcribed primary sources are published in Jersey serials like <em>New Jersey History</em> and the <em>Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey</em>. Because of the thorny, abstruse, multi-lapping and contradictory predicament of early Jersey land records, cross-referencing among primary and secondary resources is recommended. Use the below subject headings as points of entry for NYPL collections:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dLand+grants+--+New+Jersey./dland+grants+new+jersey/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dland+grants+new+jersey&amp;1%2C10%2C">Land grants -- New Jersey</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dPublic+lands+--+New+Jersey+--+Elizabeth./dpublic+lands+new+jersey+elizabeth/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dpublic+lands+new+jersey&amp;1%2C21%2C">New Jersey Public Lands</a>.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Boundaries -- New York (State).</li>
<li>Indian land transfers -- New Jersey.</li>
<li>Deeds -- New Jersey.</li>
</ul><p>Also, the below three sample titles are prized subject resources:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aHutchinson%2C+Richard+S./ahutchinson+richard+s/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=ahutchinson+richard+s&amp;1%2C20%2C" target="_blank"><em>East New Jersey land records</em></a> / Richard S. Hutchinson.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dDeeds+--+New+Jersey./ddeeds+new+jersey/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=ddeeds+new+jersey&amp;13%2C%2C14"><em>Patents and deeds and other early records of New Jersey, 1664-1703</em></a><em> / </em>edited by William Nelson.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/X%7bu2022%7dThe+Province+of+East+New+Jersey%2C+1609-1702+%2F+John+E.+Pomfret.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/X%7bu2022%7dThe+Province+of+East+New+Jersey%2C+1609-1702+%2F+John+E.+Pomfret.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=%E2%80%A2%09The+Province+of+East+New+Jersey%2C+1609-1702+%2F+John+E.+Pomfret./1%2C32000%2C32000%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=X%7bu2022%7dThe+Province+of+East+New+Jersey%2C+1609-1702+%2F+John+E.+Pomfret.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C"><em>The Province of East New Jersey, 1609-1702: The Rebellious Proprietary</em></a> / John E. Pomfret.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=t&amp;searcharg=Land+Use+in+Early+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dDelaware+Indians+--+Food+--+New+Jersey."><em>Land use in early New Jersey : a historical geography</em></a> / Peter O. Wacker, Paul G. E. Clemens.</li>
</ul><p>Centuries back, roads were scarce and the capitals distant. It was common for land transactions to remain unrecorded for many years because of travel difficulties, which is ironic for a state later stereotyped for its manifold mandala of interstates, parkways, highways, skyways and turnpikes, which toll roads in NJ trace back at least to the first decade of the 19<sup>th</sup> century in boosting transit and generating cash. The first Public Roads Act was passed in 1673 by the East Jersey Assembly, the local governing body organized by the landowners under the Nicholls grant.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nj.gov/state/archives/pdf/proprietors.pdf" rel="nofollow">land records of the East Jersey and West Jersey Proprietors</a> have only recently migrated to the collections at the NJ State Archives in Trenton. In 1998, the East Jersey records moved from their 300+ year old home in the former colonial capital of Perth Amboy, and not until 2005 did the West Jersey Proprietors do likewise from the former capital at Burlington. “The main purpose of proprietary records,” says NJ State Archivist Joseph R. Klett, “is to document land surveys and the initial severance of title from the proprietors.”</p>
<p>Numerous resources in the Milstein Division are available for tracking the shifting county boundaries and emergence of new counties from former territories, as in the creation of Union County from a chunk of Essex in 1857. Three in particular:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XCivil+Boundaries+of+New+Jersey+Counties&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XCivil+Boundaries+of+New+Jersey+Counties&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Civil+Boundaries+of+New+Jersey+Counties/1%2C32000%2C32000%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XCivil+Boundaries+of+New+Jersey+Counties&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C"><em>The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries, 1606-1968</em></a> / John Parr Snyder.</li>
<li><em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XNew+Jersey+Almanac&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/XNew+Jersey+Almanac&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=New+Jersey+Almanac/1%2C116%2C116%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XNew+Jersey+Almanac&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;3%2C3%2C">The New Jersey Almanac</a></em> / located in off-site storage.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aEichholz/aeichholz/1%2C28%2C57%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=aeichholz+alice+1942&amp;10%2C%2C11/indexsort=-"><em>Red Book : American state, county, and town sources</em></a> / edited by Alice Eichholz, 3<sup>rd</sup> ed. (2004).</li>
</ul><h2><strong><a id="news" name="news"></a>Newspapers &amp; Periodicals</strong></h2>
<p>In 1777 New Jersey founded one of its earliest newspapers, the <em>New Jersey Gazette</em>, in South Jersey, while two years later East Jersey found the <em>New Jersey Journal</em>. Both were funded by the state as instruments of “war measure,” though the <em>Journal</em> was a paper for the military while the <em>Gazette</em> was espoused by the State Legislature and Governor William Livingston. “I can assure you,” the Governor wrote to printer Isaac Collins, a Quaker from Trenton, “that the blaze of our Eastern Comet the <em>New Jersey Journal</em> has not diverted my attention from the western light the<em> Gazette</em>…” Unlike New York City across the Hudson from East Jersey and Philadelphia across the Delaware from West Jersey, the “Cockpit of the Revolution” operated a state-funded press unthwarted by Tory command, but belabored by lack of paper and the routine capture of post-riders who dispatched the issues and collected subscriptions.</p>
<p>Collins was continuously struggling for funds, often printing his news using old army “tent-bags,” and supplemented the state money by operating a general store, selling paper and printing goods, and hosting slave traders. Dependent on the state for finances, Collins maintained his publication’s independence of opinion. Collins printed a caustic and tasteless attack on Governor William Livingston, the benefactor of the <em>Gazette</em>, under the alias Cincinnatus, and when the Legislature demanded Collins reveal the true name of the author, the printer refused, publishing under his own byline two pieces titled “Liberty of the Press.”</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-c987-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Gordon Printing Press Works. Seminary Street. Rahway, N.J." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=105795&amp;t=w" width="450px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Gordon Printing Press Works. Seminary Street. Rahway, NJ. Image ID: 105795</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>New Jersey is currently represented somewhat marginally by digitized newspaper resources, most of which early printings are found in the database <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/americas-historical-newspapers">America’s Historical Newspapers</a>, including the <em>Gazette</em>, and in <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/america%E2%80%99s-historical-imprints">America’s Historical Imprints</a>, a useful database of distributed printed matter that may serve as an indirect point of entry for business information, city directories, or local history information.</p>
<p>NYPL collections include many obscure, older, or short-run NJ newspapers on microfilm. A major exception is the Hudson County succession of newspapers that evolved into <em>The Jersey Journal</em>, which, though a major publication in the industrial, commercial, and highly residential metro peninsula of <a href="http://www.hudsoncountynjgenealogy.org/collections.html" rel="nofollow">Hudson County</a>, the paper is only available in full on microfilm at <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020453/holdings/" rel="nofollow">a handful of Jersey repositories</a>, and digitally <a href="http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=HA-NJJB&amp;p_theme=histpaper&amp;p_action=keyword" rel="nofollow">by subscription online</a>. In addition, the New Brunswick Public Library has begun <a href="http://newbrunswick.archivalweb.com/reelSelector.php" rel="nofollow">a newspaper digitization project</a>.</p>
<p>As with <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/10/22/genealogical-research-using-newspapers">searching New York and U.S. newspapers</a>, historical newspaper publications in NJ are best found by subject searches:</p>
<ul><li>[TOWN] (N.J.) -- Newspapers.</li>
<li>[COUNTY] (N.J.) -- Newspapers.</li>
<li>[ETHNIC GROUP] -- New Jersey -- Newspapers.</li>
<li>[ETHNIC GROUP -“Americans”] -- New Jersey -- Newspapers.</li>
</ul><p>As a result of the absence of comprehensive or complete collections of New Jersey genealogy sources, and the scattershot predicament of NJ records, the use of serials and publications may yield tractable results. The open stacks in the Milstein Division, Room 121, feature extensive runs of the two most valuable NJ genealogy journals, <em>New Jersey History</em> and the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XGenealogical+Magazine+of+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/XGenealogical+Magazine+of+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=Genealogical+Magazine+of+New+Jersey/1%2C19%2C19%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XGenealogical+Magazine+of+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;6%2C6%2C"><em>Genealogy Magazine of New Jersey</em></a> (GMNJ).</p>
<p>GMNJ<em>,</em> issued triennially by the <a href="http://www.gsnj.org/" rel="nofollow"><em>Genealogical Society of New Jersey</em></a>, publishes the commonly sought but not always found genealogical timber that builds family history research. A surname index provides the point of entry for family notes and lineage histories, baptismal rolls and registers of vital information, gravestone inscriptions, 18<sup>th</sup> century loan office records, tax ratable lists, church records, county census schedules, an ongoing series reprinting New Jersey Supreme Court Cases (1704-1760), and likewise information. Issues on the open stacks in the Milstein Division run to 2004 and current issues can be accessed in Room 119.</p>
<p><a href="http://njh.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/njh/index" rel="nofollow"><em>New Jersey History</em></a>, the successor publication to the <em>Proceedings of the NJ Historical Society</em> (first published 1845), is a Willowbrook Mall of niche articles covering a multivalence of historical NJ subjects, with titles like “Strikes and Society: Civil Behavior in Passaic (1875-1926);” “Ezra Pound’s Tribute to Newark;” and “Oraton, Sachem of Hackensack.” Issues can be navigated using a bibliographic index (1845-1992) of subjects, names, and authors, or a <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XProceedings+of+the+New+Jersey+Historical+Society&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/XProceedings+of+the+New+Jersey+Historical+Society&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=Proceedings+of+the+New+Jersey+Historical+Society/1%2C35%2C35%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XProceedings+of+the+New+Jersey+Historical+Society&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;1%2C1%2C">subject index</a> (1845-1919). Many issues of the <em>Proceedings</em> and <em>NJH</em> can be accessed at NYPL research libraries using the digital database <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/hathitrust-digital-library">HathiTrust</a>, and all issues are available either in the Milstein Division open stacks or by request. Current issues are made <a href="http://njh.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/njh/index" rel="nofollow">available freely online</a> by Rutgers University Libraries (2009-present).</p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=s&amp;searcharg=New+Jersey+Genesis&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=XNew+Jersey+Genesis%26SORT%3DD"><em>New Jersey Genesis</em></a> and <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XJerseyman&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XJerseyman&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Jerseyman/1%2C29%2C29%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XJerseyman&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;2%2C2%2C"><em>The Jerseyman</em></a><em>: A Quarterly Magazine of Local History &amp; Genealogy</em> are two additional genealogy journals offering much research fodder for the Garden State. Issues of <em>The Jerseyman</em> are in copyright and available in <a href="http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009008646" rel="nofollow">NYPL digital databases</a>.</p>
<p>All serials and periodicals devoted to NJ subjects can either be searched using the <a href="http://wu9fb9wh4a.search.serialssolutions.com/?V=1.0&amp;N=100&amp;L=WU9FB9WH4A&amp;S=T_W_A&amp;C=%22New+Jersey%22" rel="nofollow">NYPL search platform for electronic journals</a>, or using the below sample catalog searches:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dGenealogy+New+Jersey+Periodicals/dgenealogy+new+jersey+periodicals/1%2C2%2C15%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dgenealogy+new+jersey+periodicals&amp;1%2C12%2C/indexsort=-">Genealogy New Jersey Periodicals</a>.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Genealogy -- Periodicals.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Politics and government -- Periodicals.</li>
</ul><p>It is also suggested to use the state and county advanced search function to search periodicals at <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/heritagequest-online">the PERSI archive at HeritageQuest Online</a>.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-550e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Symphony Hall, Newark, NJ." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=TH-57106&amp;t=w" width="500px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Symphony Hall, Newark, NJ. Image ID: TH-57106</figcaption></figure></div>
<h2><strong><a id="census" name="census"></a>Census Records</strong></h2>
<p>Often incomplete and unindexed, state censuses were taken in New Jersey every ten years between 1855-1915. NYPL collections include Jersey state census schedules on microfilm in Room 119 of the Schwarzman building. Locate these materials in the catalog using the below suggested subject headings:</p>
<ul><li>[NAME OF COUNTY OR CITY] (N.J.) -- Census, [YEAR].</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Census, [YEAR].</li>
</ul><p>Rarely are indexes available for these census records. NJ state censuses are arranged by local township, borough, precinct or ward district, and searchable by municipal subdivision. Once the locality is identified, one must browse the pages for the subject name or address. If an address is unknown, NYPL holds numerous NJ city directories, which are described in a subsequent section below. It can be a foggy procedure and patrons should inquire with Milstein librarians beforehand about research steerage in Jersey census records.</p>
<p>Up to 1895, the state census did not list address. Columns indicating nationality are divided by German-born, Irish, or “other,” suggesting the high populations of Germans and Irish, and the marginalization of New Jersey’s abundant first and second generation ethnic populations. The 1905 state census is the first to list a street address, and includes the birthplace of parents, with the exclusive nativity columns for German and Irish removed. The 1915 schedules include occupations and the school attended by enumerated children. Sometimes the school will be named, but often the column will simply indicate “grammar” or “high school,” with a column for public, private or parochial.</p>
<p>In addition, for Federal census indexes that zero in on a particular NJ county or city, use the above census subject headings for population schedules and indexes as well as nonpopulation schedules like mortality, manufacturing, or Merchant Seaman schedules.</p>
<p>Tax ratables abstracted and indexed by genealogist Kenn Stryker-Rodda act as a “census of the heads of families and of bachelors who had a source of income outside the family.” Cattle, horses and swine are enumerated, but not children; families might have been taxed according to horned animals and fatback, but not kids. These tax lists are published in multiple issues of the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XGenealogical+Magazine+of+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/XGenealogical+Magazine+of+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=Genealogical+Magazine+of+New+Jersey/1%2C19%2C19%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XGenealogical+Magazine+of+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;6%2C6%2C"><em>Genealogy Magazine of New Jersey</em></a> and in the microform series <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XRevolutionary+Census+of+New+Jersey%3B+an+index%2C+based+on+ratables%2C+of+the+inh&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XRevolutionary+Census+of+New+Jersey%3B+an+index%2C+based+on+ratables%2C+of+the+inh&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Revolutionary+Census+of+New+Jersey%3B+an+index%2C+based+on+ratables%2C+of+the+inh/1%2C32000%2C32000%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XRevolutionary+Census+of+New+Jersey%3B+an+index%2C+based+on+ratables%2C+of+the+inh&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;4%2C4%2C"><em>County Tax Ratables</em></a><em>, 1778-1822</em> [New Jersey]. Also useful is <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XRevolutionary+Census+of+New+Jersey%3B+an+index%2C+based+on+ratables%2C+of+the+inh&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XRevolutionary+Census+of+New+Jersey%3B+an+index%2C+based+on+ratables%2C+of+the+inh&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=Revolutionary+Census+of+New+Jersey%3B+an+index%2C+based+on+ratables%2C+of+the+inh/1%2C32000%2C32000%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XRevolutionary+Census+of+New+Jersey%3B+an+index%2C+based+on+ratables%2C+of+the+inh&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C"><em>Revolutionary Census of New Jersey</em></a><em>; an index, based on ratables, of the inhabitants of New Jersey during the period of the American Revolution</em> / Kenn Stryker-Rodda.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-4cf9-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="5-Year-Old Cranberry picker in Brown Mills, NJ, 1910." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=464525&amp;t=w" width="400px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Cranberry picker from Browns Mills, NJ. 1910. Image ID: 464525</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Some alternative NJ census resources:</p>
<ul><li>1671: <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=X&amp;searcharg=1671+census+of+the+Delaware+%2F+Peter+Stebbins+Craig.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=aNorton%2C+James+S.">census of inhabitants of the Delaware River Valley</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=X&amp;searcharg=1671+census+of+the+Delaware+%2F+Peter+Stebbins+Craig.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=aNorton%2C+James+S.">1693: </a><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aCraig%2C+Peter+Stebbins./acraig+peter+stebbins/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=acraig+peter+stebbins&amp;2%2C%2C4">census of the Swedes on the Delaware</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=X&amp;searcharg=1671+census+of+the+Delaware+%2F+Peter+Stebbins+Craig.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=aNorton%2C+James+S.">1793: a </a><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aNorton%2C+James+S./anorton+james+s/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=anorton+james+s&amp;1%2C1%2C">New Jersey militia census</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=X&amp;searcharg=1671+census+of+the+Delaware+%2F+Peter+Stebbins+Craig.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=aNorton%2C+James+S.">1790-1840: Federal Censuses for most (but not all) counties do not survive;</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=X&amp;searcharg=1671+census+of+the+Delaware+%2F+Peter+Stebbins+Craig.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=aNorton%2C+James+S.">1890: the Jersey City population schedule survived the fire at the National Archive.</a></li>
</ul><p>In addition, for demographic data, use the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/american-fact-finder">American Fact Finder</a>, a census resource; <a href="http://www.nypl.org/node/246426">Statistical Abstracts of the United States</a>, available at NYPL research locations; and any number of myriad and cross-referenceable <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dNew+Jersey+--+Gazetteers./dnew+jersey+gazetteers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnew+jersey+gazetteers&amp;1%2C16%2C">NJ gazetteers</a>.</p>
<h2><strong><a id="directories" name="directories"></a>City Directories</strong></h2>
<p>The earliest Jersey directories date back to circa 1830. NYPL collections, accessed on microfilm, can be located in the catalog using the below subject headings:</p>
<ul><li>New Jersey – Directories</li>
<li>[COUNTY OR TOWN] (N.J.) -- Directories.</li>
<li><strong>EX: </strong><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dSalem+COUNTY+%28N.J.%29+--+Directories./dsalem+county+n+j+directories/1%2C1%2C2%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=dsalem+county+n+j+directories&amp;1%2C%2C2">Salem County (N.J.) -- Directories</a>.</li>
</ul><p><a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/06/08/direct-me-1786-history-city-directories-US-NYC">Directories include</a> basic residential listings, business, <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/X%22new+jersey%22+%22farm+journal%22&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/X%22new+jersey%22+%22farm+journal%22&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=%22new+jersey%22+%22farm+journal%22/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=X%22new+jersey%22+%22farm+journal%22&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;1%2C1%2C">the county farm journal</a>, and railroad directories, and specialized reference publications like <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=X&amp;searcharg=The+Classified+Directory+of+Negro+Business+Interests%2C+Professions+&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dNew+Jersey+--+Directories+--+Bibliography."><em>The Classified Directory of Negro Business Interests, Professions of Essex Count</em>y</a>, compiled by Ralph William Nixon for the Bureau of Negro Intelligence, Newark, New Jersey (1920). For digitized directories, Ancestry has dozens of towns and counties dating up to the late 1950s, for both major hubs like New Brunswick or small exurbs like Verona.</p>
<p>Greater details on the scope and history of these Jersey resources is found in the 1993 edition of <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dnEW+jERSEY+--+Directories./dnew+jersey+directories/1%2C2%2C13%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=dnew+jersey+directories+bibliography&amp;1%2C1%2C"><em>Guide to New Jersey City Directories</em></a> / Michael Brown. Non-NYPL repositories of city directories are highlighted by the collections at <a href="http://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/collections/genealogy_and_local_history/" rel="nofollow">Newark Public Library</a> and the <a href="http://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/collections/genealogy_and_local_history/city_directories/" rel="nofollow">New Jersey State Library</a>.</p>
<h2><strong><a id="indigenous" name="indigenous"></a>Indigenous Peoples</strong></h2>
<p>The pre-proprietary landowners recognized binding real estate transactions with Delaware tribes, which, though civilized and nonviolent, slowly extinguished the peoples from the territory. At the time of first European contact, the indigenous population of New Jersey is estimated between 8-12,000; by 1700, the number was around 2,400-3,000; in 1763 had dwindled to less than 1,000; and by 1800 <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XA+New+Jersey+Anthology+Lurie&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XA+New+Jersey+Anthology+Lurie&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=A+New+Jersey+Anthology+Lurie/1%2C4%2C4%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XA+New+Jersey+Anthology+Lurie&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C">diminished to fewer than 200</a>. These tribes migrated out of the state with little traces of assimilation into New Jersey culture. East Jersey laws in the 1660s allowed tribesmen to collect the bounty on killed wolves, but white men were fined heavily for sharing liquor with any indigenous people. In 1832, Delaware professor and Revolutionary War veteran Shawuskukung, or “Wilted Grass,” known to whites as Bartholomew S. Calvin, <a href="https://archive.org/stream/dailyunionhistor01hall#page/10/mode/2up/search/Wilted" rel="nofollow">successfully petitioned the state legislature for $2,000 in land reparations</a>. The speech was published in <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XThe+Daily+union+history+of+Atlantic+City+and+County%2C+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/XThe+Daily+union+history+of+Atlantic+City+and+County%2C+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=The+Daily+union+history+of+Atlantic+City+and+County%2C+New+Jersey/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XThe+Daily+union+history+of+Atlantic+City+and+County%2C+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;1%2C1%2C">The Daily Union History of Atlantic City and County, New Jersey</a></em>.</p>
<p>Subject headings for indigenous history:</p>
<ul><li>Delaware Indians -- History.</li>
<li>Delaware Indians.</li>
<li>Delaware Indians -- Folklore.</li>
<li>New Jersey Indians Of North America.</li>
</ul><div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-4226-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Russian church and orphanage." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=490751&amp;t=w" width="450px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Russian Church and Orphanage. Image ID: 490751</figcaption></figure></div>
<h2><strong><a id="ethnicity" name="ethnicity"></a>Religion, Racial and Ethnic Subjects</strong></h2>
<p>NYPL collections should be mined for materials that support the multiethnic and polysectarian identity of Jersey, a subject whose scope demands its own research guide. As usual, key subject headings are a springboard:</p>
<ul><li>[ETHNICITY] – New Jersey – History.</li>
<li>[RACIAL GROUP] – New Jersey – [ COUNTY OR TOWN].</li>
<li>[RELIGIOUS GROUP] – New Jersey – [SUBJECT].</li>
<li>[RELIGIOUS GROUP] – New Jersey – [COUNTY OR TOWN].</li>
<li>Immigrants -- New Jersey -- History.</li>
</ul><p>For example:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dItalian+Americans+--+New+Jersey+--+History./ditalian+americans+new+jersey+history/-3,-1,0,B/browse">Italian Americans -- New Jersey -- History</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dAfrican+Americans+--+New+Jersey+--+Portraits+--+E/dafrican+americans+new+jersey+portraits+exhibitions/-53%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dafrican+americans+new+jersey+newark&amp;1%2C16%2C">African Americans -- New Jersey -- Newark</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dCubans+--+New+Jersey+--+West+New+York./dcubans+new+jersey+west+new+york/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dcubans+new+jersey+west+new+york&amp;1%2C2%2C">Cubans -- New Jersey -- West New York</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dJews+--+New+Jersey+--+Bibliography./djews+new+jersey+bibliography/-3,-1,0,B/browse">Jews -- New Jersey -- Bibliography</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XBaptists+--+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/XBaptists+--+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=Baptists+--+New+Jersey/1%2C43%2C43%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XBaptists+--+New+Jersey&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;6%2C6%2C">Baptists -- New Jersey -- Scotch Plains</a>.</li>
</ul><p>Many of the materials related to houses of worship are transcriptions of primary sources. Also, a thorough overview of the Jersey melting pot is found in <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=t&amp;searcharg=the+new+jersey+ethnic+experience&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=tthe+new+jersey+immigrant+experience"><em>The New Jersey Ethnic Experience</em> / edited by Barbara Cunningham</a>.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47db-2816-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Friendly Sons of St. Patrick" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=4000002958&amp;t=w" width="350px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Friendly Sons of St. Patrick dinner at Essex County Country Club, menu. 1895. Image ID: 4000002958</figcaption></figure></div>
<h2><strong><a id="handbooks" name="handbooks"></a>Handbooks</strong></h2>
<p>Explore the NYPL catalog for NJ research handbooks and guidebooks:</p>
<ul><li>New Jersey -- Genealogy -- Bibliography.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Genealogy -- Sources.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- Genealogy -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- History -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.</li>
<li>New Jersey -- History, Local -- Guidebooks.</li>
</ul><p>The below two items are notably inspired and synapse-inducing:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dNew+Jersey+-+Genealogy/dnew+jersey+genealogy/1%2C17%2C373%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=dnew+jersey+genealogy&amp;128%2C%2C319">Genealogical research in New Jersey</a>: four articles / by Kenn Stryker-Rodda, 1976.</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/aAgthe%2C+Claire+Keenan./aagthe+claire+keenan/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=aagthe+claire+keenan&amp;1%2C1%2C">Research in New Jersey</a> / Claire Keenan Agthe.</li>
</ul><h2><strong><a id="other" name="other"></a>Other Resources</strong></h2>
<p>Rounding out NYPL collections is the salmagundi of external resources available for Jersey research. Birth, marriage and death certificates can be accessed by contacting the <a href="http://www.nj.gov/state/archives/catgenealogy.html" rel="nofollow">New Jersey State Archives</a>. Select vital information is made available online at the <a href="http://www.nj.gov/state/archives/searchdatabases.html" rel="nofollow">New Jersey Vital Records Searchable Databases</a>, plus population schedules for Passaic County and Atlantic City in the <a href="https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/Census1885.aspx" rel="nofollow">1885 state census</a>, along with additional digitized collections including the Federal Writers' Project <a href="https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/WPAPhotographs.aspx" rel="nofollow">photographs</a>, Civil War <a href="https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/StrykerCivilWar.aspx" rel="nofollow">Service Records</a>, and <a href="https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/NJProprietors.aspx" rel="nofollow">Early Land Records</a> (1650-1801) of the East and West Jersey Proprietors.</p>
<p>The affiliated <a href="http://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/" rel="nofollow">New Jersey State Library </a> has an extensive <a href="http://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/collections/genealogy_and_local_history/" rel="nofollow">Genealogy &amp; Local History</a> collection and a thorough search portal and links page <a href="http://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/new_jersey_resources/" rel="nofollow">of NJ research resources</a>.</p>
<p>The myriad collections in the <a href="http://www.npl.org/Pages/Collections/njic.html#genealogy" rel="nofollow">New Jersey Information Center </a>at <a href="http://www.npl.org/Pages/Collections/CFCNJIC/FAids/Librariana_FA.pdf" rel="nofollow">Newark Public Library</a> include several rooms of Jerseyana, <a href="http://www.npl.org/Pages/Collections/njicnews1.html" rel="nofollow">NJ newspapers on microfilm</a>, and an arable photo collection on the Garden State. The New Jersey Historical Society, also in Newark, advocates the research advantages of its <a href="http://www.jerseyhistory.org/archivesmain.html" rel="nofollow">manuscript collections</a> and <a href="http://www.jerseyhistory.org/librarymain.html" rel="nofollow">library catalog</a> with the <a href="http://www.njdigitalhighway.org/" rel="nofollow">NJ Digital Highway</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bayonnelibrary.org/bay_Archives.htm" rel="nofollow">Substantial digital collections</a> are available freely online at the Bayonne Public Library; the plentiful <a href="https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/scua/scua.shtml" rel="nofollow">Special Collections at Rutgers University Libraries</a> feature bulk <a href="https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/scua/genealogy/genealogy.shtml" rel="nofollow">genealogy materials</a>; and no NJ genealogy research is practicable without consulting the resources, publications, and events series at <a href="http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njgsnj/events.html" rel="nofollow">The Genealogical Society of New Jersey</a>.</p>
<p>Hopefully, many things have been left out, unexplained, forgotten, glossed over, or abandoned to the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/Xmeadowlands+robert+sullivan&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/Xmeadowlands+robert+sullivan&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=meadowlands+robert+sullivan/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=Xmeadowlands+robert+sullivan&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;2%2C2%2C">Meadowlands</a> off Route 3 in Secaucus. Librarians in the U.S. History, Local History &amp; Genealogy Division encourage researchers to reach out to the reference desk in Room 121, where New York City collections, like the Statue of Liberty, share a land border with New Jersey.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-1d05-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Holland Tubes, Jersey City, NJ." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1630055&amp;t=w" width="500px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Holland Tubes, Jersey City, NJ. Image ID: 1630055</figcaption></figure></div>
<p> </p>
Genealogyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/02/09/new-jersey-genealogy-guide#commentsMon, 09 Feb 2015 11:27:30 -0500What’s Your Story? Conducting Interviews for Genealogical Researchhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/01/07/conducting-interviews-genealogical-research
Megan Margino, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-91c9-d471-e040-e00a180654d7"><img alt="Jimmie Mack of Radio News Reel interviews Howard Flanigan" height="305" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1677379&amp;t=w" width="375" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Radio News Reel Interview, Image ID 1677379</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Family history research often begins with an interview. Speaking with your family to discover names, dates, locations, and important life events is one of the most important steps in delving into the genealogy world.</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-left align-left inline inline">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-a95e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Interpreter and recorder interviewing newcomers, Ellis Island, New York" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=79880&amp;t=w" width="210px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Interviewing newcomers, Ellis Island, Image ID 79880</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Key facts that are essential springboards to researching your family history may be held by few (often older) family members. Genealogy researchers frequently express their regret in not pursuing these family details when they had the opportunity. Bits of information requiring intense research may very well be found by asking your family a few questions. Don’t wait until you find yourself saying “if only I had asked Great Aunt Mary...” her mother’s maiden name, or her parents’ ancestral town, or [insert your query here]. Talk to your family now!</p>
<figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:right"><img alt="Marcolla Family, circa 1917" class="media-element file-default" height="221" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/Marcolla%20Family.jpg" title="Marcolla Family, circa 1917" width="165" /><figcaption>Marcolla family, c. 1917</figcaption></figure><p>Alongside facts, personal narratives are just as important for genealogical and historical research. Stories help to provide personal insight to accompany the names and dates of genealogical research, and help to form a thorough account of someone’s life experiences. Consider your family as “eyewitnesses to history,” whose stories, memories, and traditions are important for both personal and historical contexts (<a href="http://www.folklife.si.edu/education_exhibits/resources/guide/introduction.aspx" rel="nofollow">Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage</a>).</p>
<p>Whether you’ve heard family stories countless times, or you’re curious to know more, it is important to sit down with your family and ask questions. You might be surprised by what you find in the process. Different relatives will provide varied bits of (sometimes conflicting) information. All of these pieces are essential in beginning the journey of uncovering your family history.</p>
<p>Interviews can provide you with a personal keepsake, a genealogical research tool, a piece of history, and an opportunity to learn more about your family.</p>
<h2>My Experiences</h2>
<figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:right"><img alt="&amp;quot;Most Popular Firefighter&amp;quot; Contest, New York Evening Journal, circa 1924" class="media-element file-default" height="259" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/most%20popular%20firefighter.jpg" title="&amp;quot;Most Popular Firefighter&amp;quot; Contest, New York Evening Journal, circa 1924" width="150" /><figcaption>Firefighter Popularity Contest, New York Evening Journal, c. 1924</figcaption></figure><p>I recently interviewed my grandparents in two respects:</p>
<ul><li>To learn the facts (names, dates, and locations concerning their family history)</li>
<li>To record an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_history" rel="nofollow">oral history</a> of their experiences growing up in Brooklyn and the Bronx</li>
</ul><p>Fun facts I learned through this process include my great grandfather winning 2nd place in a city-wide “Most Popular Firefighter” contest, my grandfather witnessing the flag raising at Iwo Jima during his time in the navy, and (possibly exaggerated) stories of scandalous love confessions and acquaintances with the Mafia.</p>
<p>In addition to collecting information for genealogical research, interviewing your family presents an opportunity to better understand their lives. Taking time to speak about significant events, family traditions, and daily activities can be a fun, eye-opening experience. You may find yourself surprised by what you learn.</p>
<h2>Where Do I Start?</h2>
<h3>Who?</h3>
<p>Begin by interviewing older family members, but eventually aim to interview all of your relatives. Speak with people from different generations of your family. Stories and details may have been held and passed down by different lines of the family.</p>
<h3>Preparation</h3>
<ul><li>Before your interview, consider what you’d like to know. Are you interested in a particular time period/subject, or a full-scale account of your interviewee’s life?</li>
<li>Conduct background research and plan questions.</li>
<li>Build rapport with your participant. Describe the nature of the project and some of the topics you’d like to talk about to help put the interviewee at ease. Your relatives can prepare for dates, details, and stories they would like to share.</li>
</ul><figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:right"><img alt="LoFaro Children, 1932" class="media-element file-default" height="152" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/LoFaro%20Children.jpg" title="LoFaro Children, 1932" width="200" /><figcaption>LoFaro children, 1932</figcaption></figure><h3>Logistics</h3>
<ul><li>Schedule the interview for a time and place (either in-person or over the phone) that is most convenient to your relative.</li>
<li>The interview should take place in a relaxed and comfortable environment (often at the interviewee’s home).</li>
<li>If you don’t know the relative well, bring someone who is more familiar to him/her. This mutual person may make an introductory phone call on your behalf.</li>
</ul><h3>Conversation Tips</h3>
<ul><li>Don’t interrogate your interviewees with details they might not remember, but instead think of the interview as a friendly discussion. Ask questions about names and dates as they arise naturally in conversation.</li>
<li>Show interest, listen carefully, maintain eye contact, and provide encouragement with nods and smiles—try not to interrupt.</li>
<li>Doing an activity alongside your relatives (e.g. walking, knitting, cooking) may help them reveal details more easily.</li>
</ul><div class="digcol-image align-right align-right inline inline">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-5f67-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt="Marconi steel-tape machine." src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1199776&amp;t=w" width="240px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Marconi steel-tape machine, Image ID 1199776</figcaption></figure></div>
<h3>Documenting the Interview</h3>
<p>Take notes of important details and questions you may think of while your participant is speaking. You may also like to record the interview using a digital recorder/camera (ask permission!) so you can focus on the discussion rather than writing.</p>
<h2>What Questions Do I Ask?</h2>
<p>Prepare questions to use as a structural guide for your interview. Background research will help you determine what you want to know, what subjects you’d like to cover, and will help you ask better questions.</p>
<p><strong>Structuring your questions:</strong> Questions should be concise and open-ended, allowing the interviewee opportunities to elaborate. Ask follow-up questions and engage in conversation. (e.g. Could you explain? Can you give me an example?)</p>
<p><strong>Start with the basics:</strong> Begin with biographical questions (e.g. What is your name? Where were you born? Where did you grow up?)</p>
<figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:right"><img alt="Marcolla Sisters, circa 1933" class="media-element file-default" height="271" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/Marcolla%20sisters.jpg" title="Marcolla Sisters, circa 1933" width="180" /><figcaption>Marcolla sisters, c. 1933</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Genealogy focus:</strong> Ask names of family members and important dates (e.g. birth, death, marriage, date of immigration), and locations (e.g. where they lived and worked, native country and town).</p>
<p><strong>Remembering family customs:</strong> Ask about family traditions, holiday celebrations, and cultural influences (e.g. my family had an aunt who draped homemade pasta all around her house).</p>
<p><strong>Exploring local history:</strong> Ask for descriptions of hometowns, what it was like to grow up in a particular town and how it changed over time. Ask about community traditions and how the area was impacted by historical events.</p>
<p><strong>Expect the unexpected: </strong><span>Don’t worry if the conversation strays from topics on your lists of prepared subjects. Allow interviewees the opportunity to tell their stories and speak freely—they may have experiences of which you were previously unaware. You can always redirect the interview to your original plan if strays too far off course.</span>
</p><p><strong>Post-interview:</strong> Don’t forget to thank your participant. If the interview was recorded, give them a copy and have your participants sign <a href="http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/pdf/InterviewReleaseForm.pdf" rel="nofollow">release forms</a> (Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage).</p>
<h2>Artifacts</h2>
<p>Old photos and documents may help spark memories, prompt questions, and ease your interview into natural conversation. Ask to see your relatives’ old photos when you visit with them and bring photos of people who you'd like to discuss.</p>
<figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:left"><img alt="Marcolla Family Heirlooms" class="media-element file-default" height="174" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/photo%20%281%29_0.JPG" title="Marcolla Family Heirlooms" width="249" /><figcaption>Marcolla family heirlooms</figcaption></figure><p>Artifacts can include photos, scrapbooks, letters, vital records, immigration documents, family Bibles, and a variety of other heirlooms.</p>
<p>Ga<span>thering artifacts can also jump start your family history research. Documents that would have required painstaking effort to locate may suddenly become available at the hand of a family member. In my case, a great aunt sent an 1880 Italian birth certificate (among other genealogical goodies), which provided essential clues and paved a path for future research. Simply asking your family for documents can solve mysteries and save you valuable time.</span>
</p><p>My interviews with relatives also revealed heaps of photos, a smattering of birth, marriage, and death certificates, wedding invitations, and a letter to the U.S. Navy inquiring about my grandfather, as he apparently did not write home very often during World War II.</p>
<h2>Interviewing Guides</h2>
<p>The following is a sampling of guides for more interviewing tips and best practices:</p>
<figure class="catalog-image caption caption caption align-right align-right inline inline"><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/18627457052907_the_oral_history_workshop" rel="nofollow"><img alt=" Collect and Celebrate the Life Stories of Your Family and Friends" src="http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/Jacket.aspx?&amp;userID=NYPL49807&amp;password=CC68707&amp;Value=0761151974&amp;content=M&amp;Return=1&amp;Type=M" width="130px" /></a>
<figcaption class="catalog-caption">The Oral History Workshop, Call Number APB 11-2219 </figcaption></figure><ul><li><a href="http://www.folklife.si.edu/education_exhibits/resources/guide/introduction.aspx" rel="nofollow">The Smithsonian Folklife and Cultural Heritage: Oral History Interviewing Guide</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.loc.gov/folklife/familyfolklife/oralhistory.html" rel="nofollow">The Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center: Oral History Interviews</a></li>
<li><a href="https://familysearch.org/sites/all/themes/frankie/documents/Step-1-Conducting-interviews.pdf" rel="nofollow">FamilySearch: Conducting Family History Interviews</a></li>
<li><a href="http://familytreemagazine.com/articlelist/interviewing" rel="nofollow">Family Tree Magazine: Interviewing Articles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://storycorps.org/great-questions/" rel="nofollow">StoryCorps: Great Questions</a></li>
</ul><p>Also search the library’s <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/">Classic Catalog</a> for the following subjects:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dOral+history+--+Handbooks%2C+manuals%2C+etc./doral+history+handbooks+manuals+etc/1%2C2%2C16%2CB/exact&amp;FF=doral+history+handbooks+manuals+etc&amp;1%2C15%2C/indexsort=-">Oral history -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dOral+history+--+Methodology./doral+history+methodology/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=doral+history+methodology&amp;1%2C26%2C">Oral history -- Methodology.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dInterviewing+--+Handbooks%2C+manuals%2C+etc./dinterviewing+handbooks+manuals+etc/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dinterviewing+handbooks+manuals+etc&amp;1%2C26%2C">Interviewing -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.</a></li>
</ul><p>Many beginner <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dUnited+States+--+Genealogy+--+Handbooks%2C+manuals%2C/dunited+states+genealogy+handbooks+manuals+etc/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dunited+states+genealogy+handbooks+manuals+etc&amp;1%2C271%2C">genealogy handbooks</a> also provide information on conducting interviews.</p>
<h2>NYPL Oral History Projects</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://oralhistory.nypl.org/">Community Oral History Project</a> documents New York City neighborhood histories through the stories of people’s experiences. Learn about the current projects, how to be an interviewer, and how to share your story. These interviews will be preserved in the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/divisions/milstein">Milstein Division</a>, and will be accessible through circulating collections and online.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nypl.org/audiovideo/veterans">NYC Veterans Oral History Project</a>, the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/voices/audio-video/oral-histories/dance">Dance Oral History Project</a>, <a href="http://www.nypl.org/voices/audio-video/oral-histories/aids">AIDS Oral History Project</a>, and the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/voices/audio-video/oral-histories/jazz">Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project</a> are among other interviewing projects facilitated by the library.</p>
Oral historyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/01/07/conducting-interviews-genealogical-research#commentsWed, 07 Jan 2015 16:14:36 -0500Conducting Genealogical Research Using Newspapershttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/10/22/genealogical-research-using-newspapers
Megan Margino, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<div class="digcol-image align-center align-center">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-a8d3-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt=" 79788" height="308" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=79788&amp;t=w" width="392" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Newsboys, 1896</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Historical newspapers are useful tools for history and genealogy research. Newspapers provide day to day accounts of a particular period in time and supply insight into the customs, cultural values, and social issues which impacted communities on local and global levels.</p>
<p>In regard to genealogical research, newspapers can be searched for ancestors’ death notices/obituaries, personal announcements and celebrations, community involvement, social news and gossip, lodge and club news, employment ads, real estate transactions, legal notices, casualty lists, military news, criminal activity, and much more.</p>
<p><span>Illustrating community news and the public sentiment of a particular region, historical newspapers can also be beneficial to local history research. Newspapers can be used to track neighborhood changes over time through coverage of business news and advertisements, the buying and selling of property, residential development, and local events.</span>
</p><p>Because most New Yorkers will not be found in the city’s major newspapers such as the <em>New York Times</em> or the <em>New York Tribune</em>, it is helpful to research newspapers specific to particular neighborhoods/towns, ethnic enclaves, and religious affiliations. Local newspapers often capture details of residents’ lives that may not be found in other genealogical records.</p>
<p>Historical newspapers are accessible through <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/alpha%3D%26subject%3D0%26location%3D0%26audience%3D0%26language%3D0%26keyword%3D%26limit%3D0">NYPL databases</a>, the library’s microfilm and periodicals collections, and various online <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/" rel="nofollow">digitization</a> projects.</p>
<div style="text-align:center">
<figure class="caption caption caption"><img alt="House For Sale, Pennsylvania Journal, June 11, 1747" class="media-element file-default" height="82" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/House%20for%20sale%2C%20Pennsylvania%20Journal%2C%206-11-1747.png" title="House For Sale, Pennsylvania Journal, June 11, 1747" width="295" /><figcaption>House For Sale, Pennsylvania Journal, June 11, 1747</figcaption></figure></div>
<h2>Databases</h2>
<figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:right"><img alt="Lincoln Assassinated, Chicago Tribune, April 15 1865, 4am edition." class="media-element file-default" height="308" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/Lincoln%20Assasinated%2C%20Chiacgo%20Tribune%2C%204-15-1865%204am.png" title="Lincoln Assassinated, Chicago Tribune, April 15 1865, 4am edition." width="165" /><figcaption>President Lincoln's Assassination, Chicago Tribune, 4 a.m. edition, April 15, 1865</figcaption></figure><p>NYPL provides access to a variety of databases which feature historical newspapers. <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/alpha%3D%26subject%3D1096%26location%3D0%26audience%3D0%26language%3D0%26keyword%3D%26limit%3D0">This list of historical newspaper databases</a> includes publications spanning throughout New York, the United States, and internationally.</p>
<p>Frequently searched newspaper databases include:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/proquest-historical-database">Proquest Historical Newspapers</a>: Major newspapers throughout the U.S. including the New York Times, New York Tribune, New York Amsterdam News, Wall Street Journal,and Newsday (1764-2009).</li>
<li>
<p><a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/americas-historical-newspapers">America’s Historical Newspapers</a>: Early newspapers throughout the U.S. including New York City (1690-1998).</p>
</li>
</ul><p>Additional historical newspaper databases encompass a wide range of communities and regions, including African American newspapers, Jewish newspapers, British newspapers, Latin American newspapers, Irish newspapers, historical ephemera, and numerous additional newspapers listed by title. <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/alpha=&amp;subject=1096&amp;location=0&amp;audience=0&amp;language=0&amp;keyword=&amp;limit=0&amp;page=1">View the full list here</a>.</p>
<p>Though not solely featuring newspapers, other databases’ collections also include a limited scope of historical newspaper titles. The genealogical collections of <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">Ancestry Library Edition</a> and <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/footnote">Fold3</a> provide access to a range of U.S. and international newspapers. Selected newspaper articles and indexes covering the past 30 years are included in <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/biography-index">Biography Index</a> and <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/general-one-file">General One File</a>, and the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/american-periodical-series-online">American Periodicals</a> database also offers magazines, journals, newspapers, and other periodicals helpful to local history research throughout the U.S.</p>
<p>To find out if a particular newspaper is available through the library’s databases, search by title using the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/find-journals-title-databases">Find e-Journals by Title in Databases</a> page. Many historical newspaper databases are only accessible on site in an NYPL research or branch library. Consult database descriptions for details.</p>
<h2>Non-Digitized Collections</h2>
<p>The library also holds a wealth of historical newspapers accessible through microfilm. These newspaper collections encompass a far wider scope of holdings than those which are available electronically.</p>
<p>Newspapers on microfilm are searchable through the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/">NYPL Classic Catalog</a> using the following subjects:</p>
<h3>New York City Newspapers</h3>
<p>Find newspapers across New York City by searching the subject <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dnew+york+%28n.y.%29+--+newspapers/dnew+york+n+y+newspapers/1%2C5%2C1118%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnew+york+n+y+newspapers&amp;1%2C1113%2C">New York (N.Y.) -- Newspapers.</a> Use the “<a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dnew+york+%28n.y.%29+--+newspapers/dnew+york+n+y+newspapers/1%2C5%2C1118%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnew+york+n+y+newspapers&amp;1%2C1113%2C/limit?">Limit Sort Search</a>” option to narrow results by date and language (e.g. Limiting the language to Russian and the year of publication to “Before 1940” will yield 5 relevant newspaper titles).</p>
<div class="digcol-image align-right align-right inline inline">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-a8d5-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt=" 79790" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=79790&amp;t=w" width="250px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Newsboy, 1896</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>To find newspapers for a particular borough in New York City, search “[Borough Name] (New York, N.Y.) -- Newspapers.” (e.g. <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dBrooklyn+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.%29+--+Newspapers./dbrooklyn+new+york+n+y+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dbrooklyn+new+york+n+y+newspapers&amp;1%2C77%2C">Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) -- Newspapers.</a>)</p>
<p>The library also holds newspapers specific to particular neighborhoods and regions of New York City. The following are a sampling of catalog subjects which categorize New York City newspapers by neighborhoods:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dEast+Village+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.%29+--+Newspapers./deast+village+new+york+n+y+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=deast+village+new+york+n+y+newspapers&amp;1%2C2%2C">East Village (New York, N.Y.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dMurray+Hill+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.%29+--+Periodicals./dmurray+hill+new+york+n+y+periodicals/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=dmurray+hill+new+york+n+y+periodicals&amp;1%2C1%2C">Murray Hill (New York, N.Y.) -- Periodicals.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dTriBeCa+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.%29+--+Newspapers./dtribeca+new+york+n+y+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dtribeca+new+york+n+y+newspapers&amp;1%2C2%2C">TriBeCa (New York, N.Y.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dWashington+Heights+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.%29+--+Newspapers/dwashington+heights+new+york+n+y+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dwashington+heights+new+york+n+y+newspapers&amp;1%2C2%2C">Washington Heights (New York, N.Y.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
</ul><p>Because not all newspapers can be searched by subject at the neighborhood level, it is also useful to search the catalog by keyword. For example, the keyword search “Kip’s Bay Newspapers” shows results for <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=X&amp;searcharg=kip%27s+bay+newspapers&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dTriBeCa+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.%29+--+Newspapers.">The Eagle</a>, which covers East Harlem, Yorkville, Kips Bay. Through searching by keyword for “Upper West Side Newspapers,” <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/XUpper+West+Side+Newspapers&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ/XUpper+West+Side+Newspapers&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBKEY=Upper+West+Side+Newspapers/1%2C4%2C4%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=XUpper+West+Side+Newspapers&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=DZ&amp;4%2C4%2C">The Gazette: A weekly newspaper devoted to the Upper West Side</a> was found.</p>
<p>New York City newspapers can also be searched by particular religious and ethnic communities, as seen through the subjects:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dJewish+newspapers+--+New+York+%28State%29+--+New+York/djewish+newspapers+new+york+state+new+york/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=djewish+newspapers+new+york+state+new+york&amp;1%2C5%2C">Jewish newspapers -- New York (State) -- New York.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dItalians+--+New+York+%28State%29+--+New+York+--+Newsp/ditalians+new+york+state+new+york+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=ditalians+new+york+state+new+york+newspapers&amp;1%2C13%2C">Italians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=d&amp;searcharg=germans+--+New+York+%28State%29+--+New+York+--+Newsp&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dpolish+--+New+York+%28State%29+--+New+York+--+Newsp">Germans -- New York (State) -- New York -- Newspapers.</a></li>
</ul><div class="digcol-image align-right align-right inline inline">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e2-90ab-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt=" 1541094" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1541094&amp;t=w" width="225px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">New York Sunday Journal, February 16, 1896</figcaption></figure></div>
<h3>United States Newspapers</h3>
<p>Newspapers published on local levels throughout the U.S. are searchable by county and city.</p>
<p>For New York State newspapers, search “[County Name] (N.Y.) -- Newspapers.” e.g.:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=d&amp;searcharg=westchester+county+%28N.Y.%29+--+Newspapers.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dsuffolk+county+%28N.Y.%29+--+Newspapers.">Westchester County (N.Y.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dSaratoga+County+%28N.Y.%29+--+Newspapers./dsaratoga+county+n+y+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dsaratoga+county+n+y+newspapers&amp;1%2C9%2C">Saratoga County (N.Y.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dOswego+County+%28N.Y.%29+--+Newspapers./doswego+county+n+y+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=doswego+county+n+y+newspapers&amp;1%2C4%2C">Oswego County (N.Y.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
</ul><p>To find U.S. newspapers by county, search “[County Name] [(State Abbreviation)] -- Newspapers.” e.g.:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dHartford+County+%28Conn.%29+--+Newspapers./dhartford+county+conn+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dhartford+county+conn+newspapers&amp;1%2C17%2C">Hartford County (Conn.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dlos+angeles+County+%28calif.%29+--+Newspapers./dlos+angeles+county+calif+newspapers/1%2C2%2C14%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dlos+angeles+county+calif+newspapers&amp;1%2C13%2C">Los Angeles County (Calif.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dCherokee+County+%28Okla.%29+--+Newspapers./dcherokee+county+okla+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dcherokee+county+okla+newspapers&amp;1%2C8%2C">Cherokee County (Okla.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
</ul><p>To find U.S. newspapers by city, search “[City Name] [(State Abbreviation)] -- Newspapers.” e.g.:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dNashville+%28Tenn.%29+--+Newspapers./dnashville+tenn+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnashville+tenn+newspapers&amp;1%2C13%2C">Nashville (Tenn.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dPortland+%28Or.%29+--+Newspapers./dportland+or+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dportland+or+newspapers&amp;1%2C7%2C">Portland (Or.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dSeattle+%28Wash.%29+--+Newspapers./dseattle+wash+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dseattle+wash+newspapers&amp;1%2C20%2C">Seattle (Wash.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dLittle+Rock+%28Ark.%29+--+Newspapers./dlittle+rock+ark+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dlittle+rock+ark+newspapers&amp;1%2C29%2C">Little Rock (Ark.) -- Newspapers.</a></li>
</ul><p>Newspapers across the U.S. can also be searched by religious and ethnic communities. e.g.:</p>
<figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:right"><img alt="Titantic Sinking, Boston Daily Globe, April 15, 1912" class="media-element file-default" height="190" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/Titanic%20Sinking%2C%20Boston%20Daily%20Globe%2C%204-15-1912.png" title="Titantic Sinking, Boston Daily Globe, April 15, 1912" width="200" /><figcaption>Titantic Sinking, Boston Daily Globe, April 15, 1912</figcaption></figure><ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=d&amp;searcharg=baptists+--+Newspapers.&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dHispanic+Americans+--+Newspapers.">Baptists -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dafrican+american+newspapers/dafrican+american+newspapers/1%2C75%2C301%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dafrican+american+newspapers&amp;1%2C38%2C/indexsort=-">African American newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dHispanic+Americans+--+Newspapers./dhispanic+americans+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dhispanic+americans+newspapers&amp;1%2C208%2C">Hispanic Americans -- Newspapers.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dItalian+Americans+--+Newspapers./ditalian+americans+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=ditalian+americans+newspapers&amp;1%2C26%2C">Italian Americans -- Newspapers.</a></li>
</ul><p>The catalog can also be used to search for newspaper <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dnewspapers+--++Bibliography/dnewspapers+bibliography/1%2C12%2C125%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnewspapers+bibliography&amp;1%2C35%2C">bibliographies</a>, <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dNewspapers+--+Directories./dnewspapers+directories/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnewspapers+directories&amp;1%2C33%2C">directories</a>, and <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dAmerican+newspapers./damerican+newspapers/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=damerican+newspapers&amp;1%2C134%2C">histories</a>, and <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dNewspapers+--+Indexes./dnewspapers+indexes/1%2C4%2C24%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnewspapers+indexes&amp;1%2C16%2C">indexes</a>. Use the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search/s">Journal Title Search</a> to search the catalog for newspapers by title.</p>
<p>The majority of newspapers listed in the catalog are available on microfilm and can be accessed through the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/microforms">Microforms Reading Room</a>, room 100 of the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/36/directions">Stephen A. Schwarzman Building</a>. Some newspaper titles are also accessible through non-microfilm, print-only collections. Additional access locations for newspapers include the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/jewish-division">Dorot Jewish Division</a>, the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schomburg">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture</a>, and other library divisions.</p>
<h3>United States Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present</h3>
<p><a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/" rel="nofollow">Chronicling America</a>, a service of the National Digital Newspaper Program, hosts a U.S. newspaper directory for years 1690-present. This directory allows for newspapers to be searched by state, county, and city; by keyword, language, ethnicity, and target audience; and alphabetically.</p>
<p>For each newspaper title, information on places, dates, and frequency of publication, geographic coverage, and language are provided. Find out which libraries throughout the U.S. hold each newspaper and the scope of each library’s holdings.</p>
<p>Search the directory here: <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/titles/" rel="nofollow">U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present</a>
</p><div class="digcol-image align-right align-right inline inline">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-a8bf-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt=" 79768" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=79768&amp;t=w" width="250px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Newsgirl, 1896</figcaption></figure></div>
<h2>Milstein Division Collections</h2>
<h3>Microfilm</h3>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nypl.org/milstein">Milstein Division</a> of United States History, Local History, and Genealogy also holds a collection of local newspapers for New York City neighborhoods. Available through the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein-division-us-history-local-history-genealogy/milstein-">Milstein Division Microform Room</a>, these newspapers reflect the culture of very specific communities over time. The following are a sampling of neighborhood newspapers held by the Milstein Division:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/tVillager+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.+%3A+1933%29/tvillager+new+york+n+y+1933/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=tvillager+new+york+n+y+1933&amp;2%2C%2C3">The Villager</a> 1933-2005, “A weekly newspaper reflecting the finest traditions of Washington Square and Greenwich Village.”</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/c*r-uslhg+*zan-g122/c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++122/1%2C1%2C2%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++122&amp;2%2C%2C2/indexsort=-">East Side News</a> 1930-1973</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/c*r-uslhg+*zan-g151/c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++151/1%2C18%2C19%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++151&amp;1%2C%2C2/indexsort=-">Chelsea News</a> 1950-2006</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/c*r-uslhg+*zan-g161/c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++161/1%2C1%2C2%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++161&amp;1%2C%2C2/indexsort=-">Co-op City Times</a> 1969-1987</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/c*r-uslhg+*zan-g163/c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++163/1%2C1%2C2%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++163&amp;2%2C%2C2/indexsort=-">The Parkway News</a> 1973-1981, “Serving the Pelham Parkway/North Bronx communities”</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/c*r-uslhg+*zan-g181/c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++181/1%2C1%2C2%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++181&amp;2%2C%2C2/indexsort=-">Manhattan East</a> 1963-1983, "A community newspaper for residents of East Manhattan."</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/c*r-uslhg+*zan-g229/c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++229/1%2C1%2C2%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=c*r+uslhg+*zan+g+++229&amp;2%2C%2C2/indexsort=-">A Little News</a> 1972-1986, "From the Friends of Central Park and the Friends of Prospect Park."</li>
</ul><p>Additional communities represented in the Milstein Division’s newspaper holdings include the East Village, Murray Hill, SoHo, and the West Bronx, among others.</p>
<h3>Print Collections</h3>
<p>Newspaper excerpts, indexes, abstracts, and guides can be found throughout the Milstein Division’s collections. Examples of newspapers and related materials in the Milstein Division are illustrated through the following categories:</p>
<p>Vital Records</p>
<figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:right"><img alt="Passenger Arrivals, San Francisco Chronicle, December 18, 1873" class="media-element file-default" height="78" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/Passenger%20Arrivals%2C%20San%20Francisco%20Chronicle%2C%2012-18-1873.png" title="Passenger Arrivals, San Francisco Chronicle, December 18, 1873" width="265" /><figcaption>Passenger Arrivals, San Francisco Chronicle, December 18, 1873</figcaption></figure><ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cAPR+%28Macon%2C+Ga.%29+05-948/capr+macon+ga+++++05++++948/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=capr+macon+ga+++++05++++948&amp;1%2C%2C2">Marriages, deaths, accidents, duels and runaways, etc. : compiled from the Weekly Georgia telegraph, Macon, Georgia 1826-1828</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/c*R-USLHG+APRN+%28Barber%2C+G.+A.+Deaths+taken+from+the+%22Brooklyn+Eagle%22%29/c*r+uslhg+aprn+barber+g+a+deaths+taken+from+the+%22brooklyn+eagle%22/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=c*r+uslhg+aprn+barber+g+a+deaths+taken+from+the+%22brooklyn+eagle%22&amp;1%2C1%2C">Deaths taken from the "Brooklyn Eagle."</a></li>
</ul><p>Local History</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cAPR+%28Marion%2C+Ind.%29+02-7427/capr+marion+ind+++++02+++7427/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=capr+marion+ind+++++02+++7427&amp;1%2C1%2C">Local history and genealogy abstracts from Marion, Indiana newspapers, 1876-1880</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cIRM+%28Utica%29+11-6864/cirm+utica+++++11+++6864/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=cirm+utica+++++11+++6864&amp;2%2C%2C2">Utica : its people &amp; events : an indexed collection of 48 local-history articles, 2004-2007</a></li>
</ul><p>Abstracts</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cAPR+%28Connecticut%29+10-5903/capr+connecticut+++++10+++5903/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=capr+connecticut+++++10+++5903&amp;1%2C%2C2">Abstracts from the Connecticut Gazette (formerly the New London Gazette) covering southeastern Connecticut, 1774-1776</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cAPR+%28Spartanburg+Co.%2C+S.C.%29+05-4715/capr+spartanburg+co+s+c+++++05+++4715/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=capr+spartanburg+co+s+c+++++05+++4715&amp;1%2C%2C2">Genealogical abstracts from Spartanburg Co., S.C. newspapers, 1872-1879</a></li>
</ul><p>Indexes</p>
<figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:right"><img alt="Newspaper Indexes in the Milstein Division" class="media-element file-default" height="141" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/Milstein%20Division%20Newspaper%20Indexes.JPG" title="Newspaper Indexes in the Milstein Division" width="253" /><figcaption>Newspaper indexes for obituaries, death notices, and marriages in the Milstein Division</figcaption></figure><ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cAPR+%28New+Jersey%29+04-420/capr+new+jersey+++++04++++420/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=capr+new+jersey+++++04++++420&amp;1%2C%2C2">Index to central New Jersey newspapers : Political intelligencer &amp; New Jersey advertiser, 1783-1786; Times and New Jersey union, 1859-1868; New Brunswick daily times, 1872-1876</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cIVD+%28Winchester%29+10-4385/civd+winchester+++++10+++4385/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=civd+winchester+++++10+++4385&amp;1%2C%2C2">Hinshaw's historical index of Winchester, Indiana newspapers, 1857-1984</a></li>
</ul><p>Bibliographies</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cIEP+81-1956/ciep+++++81+++1956/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=ciep+++++81+++1956&amp;1%2C%2C2">Swedish-American periodicals : a selective and description bibliography</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cIRN+82-206/cirn+++++82++++206/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=cirn+++++82++++206&amp;1%2C%2C2">Bibliographies and lists of New York State newspapers : an annotated guide</a></li>
</ul><p>Histories</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cIK+04-6134/cik+++++04+++6134/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=cik+++++04+++6134&amp;1%2C%2C2">Fighting words : an illustrated history of newspaper accounts of the Civil War</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/cIEH+78-2273/cieh+++++78+++2273/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CE/frameset&amp;FF=cieh+++++78+++2273&amp;1%2C%2C2">Editors and ethnicity : a history of the Irish-American press, 1848-1883</a></li>
</ul><p>Materials relating to a particular region can be searched by the subjects “[County Name] [(State Abbreviation)] -- Genealogy” and “[County Name] [(State Abbreviation)] -- History.”</p>
<h3>Clippings Files</h3>
<p>The Milstein Division also houses a collection of New York City Clippings Files. These clippings include articles from a wide variety of New York City newspapers and magazines. The bulk of materials date from the 1950's to present, with some from the early 20th century and the late 19th century.</p>
<p>Topics range from Advertising to Zoos, with many files for New York City streets and neighborhoods. Popular subjects include parks, transportation, and buildings. Searchable in the catalog, examples of clippings files include:</p>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/Xvillages+and+sections&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/Xvillages+and+sections&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=villages+and+sections/1%2C171%2C171%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=Xvillages+and+sections&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;6%2C6%2C">Villages &amp; Sections - Astoria : clippings</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/hClippings./hclippings/-3%2C16%2C0%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=hclippings;W=mag++&amp;50%2C%2C3969/indexsort=-">Apartment Houses : clippings.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/X(parks+clippings)&amp;searchscope=1&amp;b=mag&amp;SORT=D/X(parks+clippings)&amp;searchscope=1&amp;b=mag&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=(parks+clippings)/1%2C23%2C23%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=X(parks+clippings)&amp;searchscope=1&amp;b=mag&amp;SORT=D&amp;7%2C7%2C">Parks - Central Park - History : clippings</a></li>
</ul><figure class="caption caption caption" style="float:right"><img alt="Firefighters with children at St. Charles Hospital Christmas party, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 17, 1954" class="media-element file-default" height="210" src="https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/Brooklyn%20Firefighters%20with%20children%20at%20St.%20Charles%20Hospital%20Christmas%20Party%2C%20Brooklyn%20Daily%20Eagle%2C%2012-17-1954.png" title="Firefighters with children at St. Charles Hospital Christmas party, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 17, 1954" width="247" /><figcaption>Firefighters visiting St. Charles Hospital, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 17, 1954</figcaption></figure><h2>Digitized Newspaper Collections</h2>
<p>Digitized newspapers are highly beneficial to researchers, offering ease of accessibility and searching. Because of the ongoing nature of digitization, the availability of digitized newspapers will continue to grow over time. The following is a sampling of freely accessible historical newspapers for New York and regions throughout the United States.</p>
<h3>New York</h3>
<ul><li><a href="http://bklyn.newspapers.com/" rel="nofollow">Brooklyn Newsstand</a>, Full run of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1841-1955 via the Brooklyn Public Library.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/nytarchive.html" rel="nofollow">The New York Times Archive</a>, The New York Times, 1851-1923 and 1986-present.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.newyorkheritage.org/newspapers/" rel="nofollow">New York Heritage Digital Collections</a>, New York State newspapers organized by county.</li>
<li><a href="http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/" rel="nofollow">New York State Historic Newspapers</a>, New York State newspapers, 1803-2013</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/reference/newsref.htm" rel="nofollow">New York State Library</a>, Selected collections of New York State newspapers.</li>
<li><a href="http://fultonhistory.com/" rel="nofollow">Fulton History</a>, New York State newspapers, 1795-2010.</li>
</ul><h3>The U.S.</h3>
<ul><li><a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/" rel="nofollow">Chronicling America</a>, Digitized newspapers,1836-1922. A service of the National Digital Newspaper Program.</li>
<li><a href="http://viewshare.org/views/refhelp/historical-newspapers-online-usa-2/" rel="nofollow">Historical Newspapers Online USA</a>, U.S. digitized newspaper titles via the Library of Congress.</li>
<li><a href="http://icon.crl.edu/digitization.php" rel="nofollow">International Coalition on Newspapers</a>, U.S. and international digitized newspaper collections. Includes listings for free websites and paid subscriptions. A service of the Center for Research Libraries.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/oltitles.html" rel="nofollow">Library of Congress, Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room</a>, U.S. newspaper archives, indexes, and morgues.</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_online_newspaper_archives" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia: List of Online Newspaper Archives</a>, U.S. and international digitized newspapers. Includes listings for free websites and paid subscriptions.</li>
</ul><h2>More Newspaper Repositories</h2>
<div class="digcol-image align-right align-right inline inline">
<figure class="caption caption caption digcol-image"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-6b3a-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99#/?uuid=510d47e4-6b3a-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99"><img alt=" 1641592" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1641592&amp;t=w" width="300px" /></a>
<figcaption class="digcol-caption">Cigarette Card: Household Hints - Three Uses for Old Newspapers</figcaption></figure></div>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/library" rel="nofollow">Bronx County Historical Society</a></li>
<li><a href="http://brooklynhistory.org/library/wp/library-collections/newspapers/" rel="nofollow">Brooklyn Historical Society</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bklynlibrary.org/brooklyncollection/our-collections" rel="nofollow">Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.historicrichmondtown.org/treasures/collections/archives" rel="nofollow">Historic Richmond Town</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nyhistory.org/library/newspaper-research-guide" rel="nofollow">New York Historical Society</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/reference/newspprs.htm" rel="nofollow">New York State Library</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.npl.org/pages/collections/njicnews1.html" rel="nofollow">The Newark Public Library</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.queenslibrary.org/research/archives/newspaper-list" rel="nofollow">Queens Library Archives </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.statenislandmuseum.org/collections/history-archives" rel="nofollow">Staten Island Museum</a></li>
</ul><h2>Further Reading</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=t&amp;searcharg=were+your+ancestors+front+page+news%3F&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=tobituaries%3A+a+guide+to+sources">Were your ancestors front-page news?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/tnewspaper+research/tnewspaper+research/1%2C3%2C5%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=tnewspaper+research&amp;2%2C%2C2/indexsort=-">Newspaper Research</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=t&amp;searcharg=American+journalism%3B+a+history%2C+1690-1960&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dGenealogy">American journalism; a history, 1690-1960.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=t&amp;searcharg=newspapers%2C+a+reference+guide&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=timmigrant+press+and+its+control">Newspapers, a reference guide</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/tobituaries%3A+a+guide+to+sources/tobituaries+a+guide+to+sources/1%2C1%2C2%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=tobituaries+a+guide+to+sources&amp;2%2C%2C2">Obituaries : a guide to sources</a></li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/Xsource%3A+guidebook+to+american+genealogy&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D/Xsource%3A+guidebook+to+american+genealogy&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;SUBKEY=source%3A+guidebook+to+american+genealogy/1%2C19224%2C19224%2CB/frameset&amp;FF=Xsource%3A+guidebook+to+american+genealogy&amp;searchscope=1&amp;SORT=D&amp;3%2C3%2C">The source : a guidebook of American genealogy</a></li>
</ul><p>Many other <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dUnited+States+--+Genealogy+--+Handbooks%2C+manuals%2C/dunited+states+genealogy+handbooks+manuals+etc/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dunited+states+genealogy+handbooks+manuals+etc&amp;1%2C265%2C">genealogy handbooks</a> found through the library’s catalog include information on historical newspaper research.</p>
Referencehttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/10/22/genealogical-research-using-newspapers#commentsWed, 22 Oct 2014 11:13:42 -0400Can You Help Find the Descendants of Seneca Village?http://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/05/07/help-find-descendants-seneca-village
Philip Sutton, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p>A story from NPR's blog, <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2014/05/06/309727058/the-lost-village-in-new-york-city" rel="nofollow">The Lost Village in New York City</a>, about <a href="http://projects.ilt.columbia.edu/seneca/start.html" rel="nofollow">Seneca Village</a>, describes how historians have been unable to trace any of the descendants of the people who lived there. Anthropologists Diana Wall, Nan Rothschild, and Cynthia Copeland of the <a href="http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/seneca_village/htm/history.htm" rel="nofollow">Seneca Village Project</a> want to hear from "anyone who has heard family stories or has other reasons to believe that he or she is a descendant of residents of Seneca Village": see the post for contact details. One of the commenters, below the article, asks that they be provided with the names of the residents of the village, so that they might do some research of their own. A great place to start researching Seneca Village is here at the Library.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/6850fc74-5e61-8806-e040-e00a18067a2c" title=""><img alt=" 1697276" src="http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=1697276&amp;t=w" title="" width="540" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">Map of the lands included in the Central Park, from a topographical survey, June 17th, 1856; [Also:] Plan for the improvement of the Central Park, adopted by the Commissioners, June 3rd, 1856. Image ID: 1697276</span></span></p>
<p>Searching for descendants of the people who lived in Seneca Village would perhaps make a great crowd sourcing project, one that utilizes the skills of thousands of genealogists and family historians out there, especially those with African-American or Irish ancestry. Could the historians benefit from the skills of amateur researchers in the way that astronomers and paleontologists have? Maybe! Perhaps you have been researching your family history and have already traced a link, but did not yet know?</p>
<p>Solving this puzzle is difficult, to say the least, but the records are out there, at least up to a point. A genealogy database like <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">Ancestry Library Edition</a> or <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/heritagequest-online">HeritageQuest</a> has censuses (state and federal) from 1790 through 1940, and city directories, amongst other things: NYPL provides free access to both databases. <a href="https://familysearch.org/" rel="nofollow">Family Search</a> (free online) has lots of <a href="https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list?page=1&amp;countryId=22" rel="nofollow">NY state</a> and NYC records online, including <a href="https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2078654" rel="nofollow">New York Land Records, 1630-1975</a> (property deeds (a.k.a. conveyances) and mortgages, etc.), and the Municipal Archives has <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/archives/collections_valuation.shtml" rel="nofollow">Real Estate Tax Assessment</a> records on microfilm). The <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/map-division">Map Division</a> here at NYPL has, well, maps of <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/map-division/fire-insurance-topographic-zoning-property-maps-nyc">Manhattan</a>, and Central Park!</p>
<p>Obviously historians have already consulted these sources, but a second pair of eyes never did any harm. And genealogists do like a challenge! If you have research tips, suggestions, or stories, please post in the comments section of this blog post.</p>
<p>Maybe start with the property records? <a href="http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-33068-16204-58?cc=2078654&amp;wc=M7C6-XNL:358138101,360573501" rel="nofollow">This page</a>, from what is known as a Land Conveyance Grantor index, shows John and Elizabeth Whitehead selling land to various people and churches, land that would become Seneca Village. You can use the Liber and Page numbers to explore the Conveyances themselves.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><a href="http://projects.ilt.columbia.edu/seneca/frame.html" title="" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" height="383" src="http://projects.ilt.columbia.edu/seneca/Images/Sv230.gif" title="" width="500" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">Seneca Village in 1856, as interpreted and illustrated in a Topographical Survey for the Grounds of Central Park by Egbert Viele.</span></span></p>
Genealogyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/05/07/help-find-descendants-seneca-village#commentsWed, 07 May 2014 12:50:17 -0400Researching Orphans in Genealogyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/11/07/researching-orphans-genealogy
Carmen Nigro, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?805105" title="New York City, The Colored Orphan Asylum, Boulevard And One Hundred And Fourty-Third Street., Digital ID 805105, New York Public Library"><img width="540" height="230" alt="New York City, The Colored Orphan Asylum, Boulevard And One Hundred And Fourty-Third Street., Digital ID 805105, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=805105&amp;t=w" title="New York City, The Colored Orphan Asylum, Boulevard And One Hundred And Fourty-Third Street., Digital ID 805105, New York Public Library" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">New York City, The Colored Orphan Asylum, Boulevard And One Hundred And Fourty-Third Street., Digital ID 805105, New York Public Library</span></span></p>
<p>If you have an orphan in your family tree, you may have to go through additional steps to find relevant genealogical records for the orphaned or adopted ancestor. Orphans originating in New York City are not uncommon because of the city's history with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_Train" rel="nofollow">Orphan Train</a> movement.</p>
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<p>From the 1850s to the 1920s, the Orphan Train Movement was an organized effort to transport children from overcrowded cities, such as New York City, to foster homes across the country. An estimated 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, or homeless children were relocated, particularly to '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_frontier" rel="nofollow">pioneer</a>' states such as Indiana, Kansas, and Nebraska, though the trains made stops in 45 states as well as Canada and Mexico. The beginning of the <a href="http://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/topics/fostering.htm" rel="nofollow">Foster Care</a> movement, which grew out of the Orphan Train's "<a href="http://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/topics/placingout.html" rel="nofollow">free-home-placing-out</a>" idea, ended the Orphan Trains. Of course, not all children's care institutions took part in the Orphan Trains, and not all orphans were shipped out of New York City.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?2040780" title="Brooklyn Orphan Asylum., Digital ID 2040780, New York Public Library"><img width="300" height="225" alt="Brooklyn Orphan Asylum., Digital ID 2040780, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=2040780&amp;t=w" title="Brooklyn Orphan Asylum., Digital ID 2040780, New York Public Library" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">Brooklyn Orphan Asylum., Digital ID 2040780, New York Public Library</span></span></p>
<p>To get started in researching an orphan in your family tree, use Genealogy Insider's <a href="http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2010/03/30/TipsForResearchingOrphanedAncestors.aspx" rel="nofollow">Tips For Researching Orphaned Ancestors</a> or Rootsweb's <a href="http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com/lesson31.htm" rel="nofollow">Guide for an Adopted or Orphaned Ancestor</a>. Another helpful resource is <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16305378~S1"><em>Waifs, Foundlings and Half-Orphans: Searching for America's Orphan Train Riders</em></a> by Mary Ellen Johnson; peppered with personal stories, this book is most useful for its research tips at the end of each section. <a href="http://www.cyndislist.com/orphans/orphan-trains/" rel="nofollow">Cyndi's List of Orphan Train Resources</a> includes census resources and links to several localized Orphan Train Societies. The <a href="http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/genealogy/adopt.htm" rel="nofollow">New York State Library: Genealogy for Adoptees</a> website includes search strategy materials, helpful organizations, and information regarding open records searching for adoptions. <a href="http://www.adopting.org/adoptions/adoption-search-lesson-series-first-steps-to-take.html" rel="nofollow">Adopting.org's First Steps Guide</a> is generally aimed towards adoptees seeking birth parents, but also contains tips useful to genealogy research.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><a title="Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Amsterdam Ave., New York., Digital ID 836667, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?836667"><img width="300" height="199" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=836667&amp;t=w" alt="Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Amsterdam Ave., New York., Digital ID 836667, New York Public Library" title="Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Amsterdam Ave., New York., Digital ID 836667, New York Public Library" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Amsterdam Ave., New York., Digital ID 836667, New York Public Library</span></span></p>
<p>The New York charity institutions involved in the Orphan Train movement include The Children's Aid Society, the New York Juvenile Asylum (now called Children's Village), the New York Foundling Hospital, and the Orphan Asylum Society of the City of New York. The records of these various institutions are not all kept in the same locations. You can use <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10840369~S1"><em>Adoption Agencies, Orphanages, and Maternity Homes: An Historical Directory</em></a> by Reg Niles, a state-by-state guide to help you identify a relevant agency. Once you have identified the potential agency or orphanage, search <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/archivegrid-formerly-rlg-archival-resources">ArchiveGrid</a> for the location of their records. The <a href="http://orphantraindepot.org/research-and-registration/research-resources/" rel="nofollow">National Orphan Train Complex Research Resources</a> has an address list of various local agencies for vital records and institutional records, includes the archival locations for most of the major NYC orphanages. Family Tree Magazine also compiled a list of <a href="http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/record-repositories" rel="nofollow">Orphan Record Repositories</a>. The NYPL holds the records of two orphanages: <a href="http://archives.nypl.org/scm/20705">Howard Orphanage and Industrial School records</a> and the <a href="http://archives.nypl.org/scm/20625">Riverdale Children's Association Records</a> (formerly known as the Colored Orphan Asylum in New York City, the first institution in the United States dedicated to the care of African American children). <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15615457~S1"><em>Genealogical Resources in New York</em></a> edited by Estelle M. Guzik also details the locations of many of the records of New York orphanages and children's care agencies.</p>
<p>For further information on the history of Orphan Trains:</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/orphan_trains_book_cover.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="207" height="300" /></span></p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18437859~S1"><em>Extra! Extra! The Orphan Trains and Newsboys of New York</em></a> / by Renée Wendinger</p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16098697~S1"><em>Orphan Train Riders: A Brief History of the Orphan Train Era (1854-1929)</em></a> / Tom Riley</p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15005909~S1"><em>Orphan Trains: The Story of Charles Loring Brace and the Children he Saved and Failed</em></a> / Stephen O'Connor</p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15009038~S1"><em>Orphan Trains &amp; Their Precious Cargo: The Life's Work of Rev. H.D. Clarke</em></a> / compiled by Clark Kidder</p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b14416915~S1"><em>Journeys of Hope: Orphan Train Riders: Their Own Stories</em></a> / edited by Mary Ellen Johnson</p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11632646~S1"><em>The Orphan Trains: Placing Out in America</em></a> / Marilyn Irvin Holt</p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b17540742~S1"><em>The Orphan Trains</em></a> <em> </em>[videorecording] / Edward Gray Films, Inc., WGBH</p>
<p>If you are interested in genealogy research in the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/milstein">Milstein Division</a>, we are located in Room 121 of the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/36/directions">Stephen A Schwarzman Building</a>, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. To get a better idea of our services, holdings, and genealogical methods, please explore the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/36/node/62586">Conducting Research</a> portion of our division's website, including our <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/36/node/65877">Frequently Asked Questions</a> and <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/division/milstein">blog posts</a>, as well as links to free <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/36/node/108423">genealogical online resources</a>. You can explore the library's <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search/">catalog</a> if you would like to search for specific holdings in the library collection.</p>Referencehttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/11/07/researching-orphans-genealogy#commentsThu, 07 Nov 2013 12:12:17 -0500USSC Processing Project: The United States Sanitary Commission Records Open for Research on July 16, 2013http://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/07/09/ussc-processing-project-records-open-july-16
Susan Waide, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Manuscripts and Archives Division<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/ussc_blog_2013_07_release_shield.thumbnail_square.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-thumbnail_square" width="100" height="100" /></span>We are delighted to announce that archival processing of the records of this important Civil War humanitarian organization has been completed. The collection will be available for research in the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/manuscripts-division">Manuscripts and Archives Division</a> reading room beginning on July 16, following usual procedures. A draft guide to the collection will be made available at that time.</p>
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<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/ussc_blog_2013_07_release_aisles.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt="A snapshot of USSC shelving" title="A snapshot of USSC shelving" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="172" height="229" /><span class="caption caption caption">A snapshot of USSC shelving</span></span>The project marks the first comprehensive arrangement of the entire collection since 1878, made possible by generous funding from the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust. Intensive foundational arrangement, description and rehousing of the collection has been conducted over the past three years, thanks to the efforts of project staff members Elizabeth Delmage, Melissa Haley, Joseph Lapinski and Jane Rothstein. We also thank Division staff Jeffrey Stovich and Elizabeth Shulman for chipping in when needed.</p>
<p>Every effort has been made to restore the identity and functionality of correspondence, records books, and other materials so that the work of the USSC, in partnership with the American people and the U.S. government, can be more easily discovered and explored.</p>
<p>As a sampling of work accomplished:</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/ussc_blog_2013_07_release_vols.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt="Volumes before processing" title="Volumes before processing" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="157" height="118" /><span class="caption caption caption">Volumes before processing</span></span>Approximately 1,500 volumes have been analyzed and described to provide context as to their creation and use. Many lacked their original bindings, and were encased in wrappers with minimal and sometimes erroneous labelling. Partially-filled journals, record books and letterpress copybooks were often reused by others at a later time. When possible, these multiple and varied uses have been identified, to make pertinent information about a particular person, place or activity more visible to researchers.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/ussc_blog_2013_07_release_docs.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt="Documents before processing" title="Documents before processing" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="173" height="130" /><span class="caption caption caption">Documents before processing</span></span></p>
<p>Tens of thousands of tri-folded and bundled documents in multiple record groups have been sorted, flattened, identified and foldered. These include letters, reports and other documents which were numbered, endorsed and listed in registers by the USSC's Archive Department. We were also able to return a large amount of unsorted and mislocated materials to their appropriate record groups. As a result of this work, the records of USSC offices, departments, auxiliary branches, and aid societies are now more comprehensive and accessible.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/ussc_blog_2013_07_release_claim.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt="USSC claim file" title="USSC claim file" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="149" height="198" /><span class="caption caption caption">USSC claim file</span></span>A substantial body of records highlight a core "special relief" service of the USSC—helping soldiers and their relatives file pension, back pay and other claims with the government, free of charge. Roughly 35,000 jacketed claim application files have been opened, flattened and placed in individual files identifiable by name and claim number. The register volumes used by the USSC to formally record and manage the applications have been identified and described to provide enhanced access to claim information. We are grateful to our loyal group of NYPL volunteers, who helped process the claim files.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/ussc_blog_2013_07_release_letterbook.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt="USSC letterbook" title="USSC letterbook" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="195" height="146" /><span class="caption caption caption">USSC letterbook</span></span>Special thanks are due to staff in the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/nypl-collections/preservation-division">Barbara Goldsmith Preservation Division</a>, who provided conservation treatment and housing for a variety of materials. To give just one example, many thousands of letters and other documents, which had been glued to stubs in over one hundred letterbooks, were removed, cleaned and repaired. Their efforts and expertise have done wonders in making large amounts of heavily soiled and damaged materials physically accessible for research. Their dedication to the project is much appreciated.</p>
<p>The leaders of the USSC, men and women, did their best to ensure that a documentary record of the Commission's work would be left for posterity. We believe that the records now present a clearer view of the USSC's organizational structure, its working relationships, and its methods of communication. Our goal has been to improve access so that researchers can fully explore its activities during and after the Civil War, and hear more easily the voices and thoughts of those who experienced those times, as captured by pen, pencil, paper and telegram. We encourage those who have previously worked in the collection to make a return visit!</p>
<p>Past blog posts on the project:</p>
<p>Apr 26, 2010: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/04/26/united-states-sanitary-commission-processing-project">The USSC Records Processing Project </a><br />
Sept 30, 2010: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/09/30/ussc-processing-project-diving">Diving In </a><br />
Oct 8, 2010: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/10/08/ussc-processing-project-us-sanitary-commissions-archive-department">The USSC's Archive Department </a><br />
Dec 2, 2010: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/12/02/ussc-processing-project-harvests-health">Harvests for Health </a><br />
Dec 22, 2010: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/12/16/ussc-processing-project-giving">Giving </a><br />
Feb 23, 2011: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/02/23/united-states-sanitary-commission-processing-project-sense-history">A Sense of History </a><br />
Mar 31, 2011: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/03/31/ussc-accounts-and-vouchers">Accounts and Vouchers </a><br />
July 19, 2011: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/07/19/tales-record-books-ussc-department-north-carolina">Tales from the North Carolina Record Books </a><br />
Aug 30, 2011: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/08/30/united-states-sanitary-commission-processing-project-whats-my-line">What’s My Line? </a><br />
Nov 18, 2011: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/11/18/ussc-processing-project-department-gulf">Department of the Gulf </a><br />
Dec 20, 2011: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/12/20/ussc-processing-project-army-potomac">Army of the Potomac </a><br />
May 9, 2012: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/05/01/ussc-records-day-civil-war-office"> A Day at the (Civil War) Office </a><br />
Oct 4, 2012: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/10/04/ussc-processing-project-after-antietam">After Antietam </a></p>Genealogyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/07/09/ussc-processing-project-records-open-july-16#commentsTue, 09 Jul 2013 06:06:17 -0400Why Your Family Name Was Not Changed at Ellis Island (and One That Was)http://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/07/02/name-changes-ellis-island
Philip Sutton, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p>Between 1892 and 1954, over twelve million people entered the United States through the immigration inspection station at Ellis Island, a small island located in the upper bay off the New Jersey coast. There is a myth that persists in the field of genealogy, or more accurately, in family lore, that family names were changed there. They were not. Numerous blogs, essays, and books have proven this. Yet the myth persists; a story in a recent issue of <em>The New Yorker </em>suggests that it happened. This post will explore how and why names were not changed. It will then tell the story of Frank Woodhull, an almost unique example of someone whose name <em>was</em> changed, as proof that even if your name was changed at Ellis Island (it wasn't), it wouldn't have mattered. Confused? Read on...</p>
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<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><span class="caption caption caption"><a title="Immigrants undergoing medical examination., Digital ID 416754, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?416754"><img width="540" height="412" title="Immigrants undergoing medical examination., Digital ID 416754, New York Public Library" alt="Immigrants undergoing medical examination., Digital ID 416754, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=416754&amp;t=w" /></a></span></span></p>
<p>The legend goes that officials at Ellis Island, unfamiliar with the many languages and nationalities of the people arriving at Ellis Island, would change the names of those immigrants that sounded foreign, or unusual. Vincent J. Cannato's excellent book <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18081808~S1"><em>American Passage: The History of Ellis Island</em></a> explains why this did not happen:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Nearly all [...] name change stories are false. Names were not changed at Ellis Island. The proof is found when one considers that inspectors never wrote down the names of incoming immigrants. The only list of names came from the manifests of steamships, filled out by ship officials in Europe. In the era before visas, there was no official record of entering immigrants except those manifests. When immigrants reached the end of the line in the Great Hall, they stood before an immigration clerk with the huge manifest opened in front of him. The clerk then proceeded, usually through interpreters, to ask questions based on those found in the manifests. Their goal was to make sure that the answers matched. (p.402)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Inspectors did not create records of immigration; rather they checked the names of the people moving through Ellis Island against those recorded in the ship's passenger list, or manifest. The ship's manifest was created by employees of the steamship companies that brought the immigrants to the United States, before the voyage took place, when the passenger bought their ticket. The manifest was presented to the officials at Ellis Island when the ship arrived. If anything, Ellis Island officials were known to correct mistakes in passenger lists. The <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16056856~S1"><em>Encyclopedia of Ellis Island</em></a> states that employees of the steamship companies,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…mostly ticket agents and pursers required no special identification from passengers and simply accepted the names the immigrants gave them. Immigrant inspectors [at Ellis Island] accepted these names as recorded in the ship's manifests and never altered them unless persuaded that a mistake had been made in the spelling or rendering of the name. Nonetheless the original name was never entirely scratched out and remained legible. (p.176)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although it is always possible that the names of passengers were spelt wrong, perhaps by the clerk when the ticket was bought, <span>or during transliteration, when names were translated from one alphabet to another, it is more likely that immigrants were their own agents of change. </span><span>Cannato, for instance, suggests that people often changed their name in advance of migration. More commonly, immigrants would change their names themselves when they had arrived in the United States, and for a number of reasons.</span></p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><span class="caption caption caption"><a title="Immigrants being registered at one end of the Main Hall, U. S. Immigration Station., Digital ID 1693105, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1693105"><img width="540" height="394" title="Immigrants being registered at one end of the Main Hall, U. S. Immigration Station., Digital ID 1693105, New York Public Library" alt="Immigrants being registered at one end of the Main Hall, U. S. Immigration Station., Digital ID 1693105, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=1693105&amp;t=w" /></a></span></span></p>
<p>Someone might change their name in order to make it sound more American, to fit in with the local community, or simply because it was good for business. There is at least one instance of a small businessman arriving in the United States from Eastern Europe changing his name, at least his public name, to something that sounded Swedish, because he had settled in a Swedish neighborhood in New York City. Immigrants would sometimes officially record their name change, when naturalizing for instance, but often, as there was no law in New York State requiring it be done, no official record of a name change was made. People would just start using a different name.</p>
<p>John Colletta, in his book <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15405622~S1"><em>They Came in Ships</em></a>, describes the immigration process at Ellis Island in more detail:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[The] Inspector [in the immigration receiving center] had in has hands a written record of the immigrant he was inspecting and, asking the same questions over again, could compare the oral statements with it. The inspectors therefore, read the names already written down on the lists, and they had at their service a large staff of translators who worked along side them in the Great Hall of the Ellis Island facility. (p.12)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Contemporary descriptions of Ellis Island do not mention name changes at Ellis Island. A search of historical newspapers using the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/proquest-historical-database">ProQuest Historical Database</a> produces only one story about name changes written during the time that Ellis Island was in operation.</p>
<p>Leonard Lyon's entertainment column <em>Broadway Potpourri</em>, in the <em>Washington Post</em> of April 10th, 1944, states that Harry Zarief, "the assistant concert master for Morton Gould," and famously a father of quadruplets, had recently changed his name back from Friedman.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Friedman. His name originally was Zarief, but when his family arrived at Ellis Island the immigration inspector told him that Zarief was too complicated, and recorded his name as "Friedman." Many years later the "Friedman" was changed back to the original Zarief. (p.9)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are hundreds of stories about the immigration inspection station in the newspapers of the time that do not mention names being changed. In a 1922 article, titled <em>To Be or Not to Be American</em> in the New York Times, journalist Elizabeth Heath describes a visit to Ellis Island, and the Great Hall where immigrants were processed.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Upstairs, in the great main hall of the building, the straggling crowd is skillfully split into a dozen long lines, each leading to the desk of an inspector. Before him is spread the manifest of the steamship company, giving the required information about each steerage passenger - religion, relatives in America, amount of money, source of passage money, literacy, occupation, and the positive statement that the candidate for admission does not believe or practice polygamy or anarchy. It is a seeming miscellany of information, but each item has a direct bearing on the legality of admission. (p.41)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A letter to the Chicago Tribune advice column <em>The Legal Friend of the People,</em> dated September 16, 1912 discusses name changes and an application for citizenship, and mentions Ellis Island.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>After having lived in the United States for five years I changed the spelling of my name. When I made my declaration to become a citizen of the United States, about a year and a half ago, I gave my name as I now spell it. Will this cause any hitch in my taking out final citizenship papers six months hence? [...] I understand that all declarations of intention to become a citizen are forwarded to New York and verified by the records at Ellis Island. When it is discovered that my name, as I spelled it when I took out my first papers, is not on the books [the ships manifests] there, will this interfere with my taking out my final naturalization papers?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The advice given in reply:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On making the application for final papers, you should spell your name as in the original application. You have the right to change the spelling without a court process. (p.6)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The idea that names were changed at Ellis Island raises lots of questions. For instance, if names were changed, what happened to the paperwork? And if inspectors were charged with changing names, why are there no records of this? Where are the lists of approved names? Where are the first hand accounts, of inspectors and immigrants? If immigrants had name changes forced upon them, why did they not simply change their name back when they entered the country? Or, if they could not, where is paperwork describing the roles of Federal officials charged with making sure that names were not changed back?</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><span class="caption caption caption"><a title="Immigrants seated on long benches, Main Hall, U.S. Immigration Station., Digital ID 417074, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?417074"><img width="540" height="384" title="Immigrants seated on long benches, Main Hall, U.S. Immigration Station., Digital ID 417074, New York Public Library" alt="Immigrants seated on long benches, Main Hall, U.S. Immigration Station., Digital ID 417074, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=417074&amp;t=w" /></a></span></span></p>
<p>All rather silly, perhaps. Yet the myth persists, almost exclusively in family lore. One explanation might be that we live in more enlightened times. People migrating to the United States no longer feel that they have to change their name to fit in, and so it seems strange that people would voluntarily change their name generations ago.</p>
<p>Marian L. Smith, in her essay <a href="https://www.ilw.com/articles/2005,0808-smith.shtm" rel="nofollow"><em>American Names: Declaring Independence</em></a>, suggests that another interpretation of the Ellis Island myth might be:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>That an immigrant is remembering his initial confrontation with American culture. Ellis Island was not only immigrant processing, it was finding one's way around the city, learning to speak English, getting one's first job or apartment, going to school, and adjusting one's name to a new spelling or pronunciation. All these experiences, for the first few years, were the "Ellis Island experience." When recalling their immigration decades before, many immigrants referred to the entire experience as "Ellis Island."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is always the exception to the rule. The clipping below is from the passenger list for the steamship S.S. New York, which arrived at the Port of New York, from Southampton, England, October 4th, 1908. It shows that a passenger's name has been crossed out and replaced with another, that of Mary Johnson. The clipping below that is from the United Kingdom Outward Passenger Lists and confirms that the passenger had described himself as Frank Woodhull, a clerk, and alien in the United States.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-middle inline-middle"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/woodhull_crop.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt=" S.S. New York (American Line) Sept 26th,1908" title=" S.S. New York (American Line) Sept 26th,1908" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="459" height="178" /><span class="caption caption caption">List or manifest of alien passengers: S.S. New York (American Line) Sept 26th,1908</span></span></p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-middle inline-middle"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/woodhull_outwardpl.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt=" S.S. New York (American Line) Sept 26th,1908" title=" S.S. New York (American Line) Sept 26th,1908" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="539" height="64" /><span class="caption caption caption">United Kingdom outward passengers: S.S. New York (American Line) Sept 26th,1908</span></span>The S.S. New York's passenger list includes an addendum, a page titled Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry. This was a list of the names of passengers disembarking from the S.S. New York, who were detained at Ellis Island. The reason given for "Mary Johnson" being held for further inspection is that "she" was travelling as Frank Woodhull "in male attire." Mr. Woodhull proved that he would not be a financial burden on the United States, and was allowed to continue his journey to New Orleans.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-middle inline-middle"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/woodhullalienpl.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt=" S.S. New York (American Line) Sept 26th, 1908" title=" S.S. New York (American Line) Sept 26th, 1908" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="536" height="41" /><span class="caption caption caption">Record of aliens held for special inquiry: S.S. New York (American Line) Sept 26th, 1908</span></span>The incident generated headlines in newspapers all over the country, and Frank Woodhull gave a number of interviews, where he told his story, a story that tells us much about the times. Here it is as told to the New York Times, October 5th and 6th, 1908.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My life has always been a struggle. I come of an English-Canadian family, and I have most of my fight to make all alone. Thirty years ago, when I was 20, my father died and I was thrown entirely on my own resources. I came to this country a young girl and went west to make my way. For fifteen years I struggled on. The hair on my face was a misfortune. It was often the subject of rude jest and caused me endless embarrassment. The struggle was awful, but I had to live somehow, and so I went on. God knows that life has been hard, but of the hardness of those years I cannot speak.</p>
<p>Then came a time fifteen years ago when I got desperate. I had been told that I looked like a man, and I knew that in Canada some women have put on men's clothes do men's work. So the thought took shape in my mind. If these women had done it why could not I, who looked like a man? I was in California at the time. I bought men's clothes and began to wear them. Then things changed. I had prospects. My occupation I have given here as canvasser, but I have done many things. I have sold books, lightning rods, and worked in stores. Never once was I suspected that I was other than Frank Woodhull. I have lived my life, and I tried to live it well. Most of the time I have been in California, but now I am going to New Orleans, where there are chances of employment. I have never attempted to take citizenship papers. I knew to do so would be either to reveal my sex or else become a law breaker. I have never been the latter. I did not know that there was a law against women wearing male attire in this State or I would have sailed to another port. My folks come originally from England and it had long been my wish to go there and take a look about. So with a measure of success the longing grew and I began to save up for my holiday. I went over in the steerage two months ago and returned the same way.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On October 8th, 1908 Woodhull returned from Europe, and passing through Ellis Island, as an alien, despite having lived in the United States for a number of years, was pulled to one side by an official who thought that he might have Tuberculosis. Erica Rand, in her book <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16170045~S1"><em>The Ellis Island Snow Globe</em></a>, quotes an article that appeared in the New-York Tribune, describing "what happened when Woodhull was called for further examination:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] Woodhull told the surgeon "Oh, please don't examine me!" She pleaded. "I might as well tell you all. I am a woman, and have traveled in male attire for fifteen years." "(p.80)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Woodhull was brought before a Board of Special Inquiry at Ellis Island, who according to the New York Times, October 6th, declared him a "desirable immigrant [who] should be allowed to win her livelihood as she saw fit." (p.6)</p>
<p>Woodhull talked about how women were expected to behave, dress, and of the types of work open to them.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Women have a hard time in this world. They are walking advertisements for the milliner, the dry goods stores, the jewelers, and other shops. They live in the main only for their clothes, and now and then when a woman comes to the front who does not care for dress she is looked upon as a freak and a crank. With me how different. See this hat? I have worn that hat for three years, and it cost me $3. What woman could have worn a hat so long? Bah! They are the slaves to whim and fashion. What could I do when fifteen years ago I faced the crisis in my life? There was only housework to which I could turn.[…] Men can work at many unskilled callings, but to a woman only a few are open, and they are the grinding, death-dealing kinds of work. Well, for me, I prefer to live a life of independence and freedom.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>The New York Times</em> goes on to add that the individual identified at Ellis Island as Mary Johnson, was freed, to "face the world as Frank Woodhull." (p.6)</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><span class="caption caption caption"><a title="A private interview between a young immigrant and an Ellis Island official. Two staff members [?] are also present., Digital ID 1693107, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1693107"><img width="540" height="395" title="A private interview between a young immigrant and an Ellis Island official. Two staff members [?] are also present., Digital ID 1693107, New York Public Library" alt="A private interview between a young immigrant and an Ellis Island official. Two staff members [?] are also present., Digital ID 1693107, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=1693107&amp;t=w" /></a></span></span></p>
<p>A thorough search of Ancestry Library Edition provides no clues as to Frank Woodhull's whereabouts after leaving Ellis Island, though the internet does include references to his settling in New Orleans, becoming an American citizen, and dying in 1939: citations are missing. Perhaps, after the furor, Frank decided to change his name, to avoid further publicity. This story illustrates one thing. Once Woodhull left Ellis Island, he was no longer obliged to be known as Mary Johnson, but was free to resume his life, complete with the name and identity of his choosing. Ellis Island could not impose a name upon him.</p>
<h3>Further reading</h3>
<p>Copies of ship's manifests, or passenger lists, are avialable at New York Public Library, via the database <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">Ancestry Library Edition</a>.</p>
<p>If you would like to read more about Ellis Island, try searching for materials in the Library's <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search/">catalog</a>. You can use the following subject terms:</p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dEllis+Island+Immigration+Station+%28N.Y.+and+N.J.%29/dellis+island+immigration+station+n+y+and+n+j/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dellis+island+immigration+station+n+y+and+n+j&amp;1%2C48%2C"><strong>Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.)</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dEllis+Island+Immigration+Station+%28N.Y.+and+N.J.%29/dellis+island+immigration+station+n+y+and+n+j/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dellis+island+immigration+station+n+y+and+n+j+history&amp;1%2C45%2C">Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.) -- History.</a></p>
<p>The Library's Digital Gallery includes many <a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?word=Ellis%20Island%20Immigration%20Station%20%28N%2EY%2E%20and%20N%2EJ%2E%29&amp;s=3&amp;notword=&amp;f=2">images of Ellis Island</a>.</p>Referencehttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/07/02/name-changes-ellis-island#commentsTue, 02 Jul 2013 02:02:43 -0400Special Library in Focus: The New-York Historical Society Libraryhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/07/23/special-library-focus-new-york-historical-society
Miranda McDermott, Bronx Library Center<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a title="Library of the New York Historical Society., Digital ID 805590, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?805590"><img width="187" height="300" title="Library of the New York Historical Society., Digital ID 805590, New York Public Library" alt="Library of the New York Historical Society., Digital ID 805590, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=805590&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">Library of the New York Historical Society., Digital ID 805590, New York Public Library</span></span>While I was in the neighborhood (visiting the library of the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/04/17/special-library-focus-amnh-library">American Museum of Natural History - AMNH</a>), I serendipitously noticed that the <a href="http://www.nyhistory.org/" rel="nofollow">New-York Historical Society (NYHS)</a> was next door. After visiting the AMNH, I decided to check out the library of the historical society. I was happy to discover that it is open to the public free Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and on Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m, and they have a wealth of resources! In addition to their physical library, they also have many <a href="http://www.nyhistory.org//library/collections" rel="nofollow">electronic resources</a>. The New-York Historical Society Library and Museum was founded in 1804, and it is the oldest museum in the City of New York.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><a title="New York in 1660, Digital ID 423109, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?423109"><img width="196" height="200" title="New York in 1660, Digital ID 423109, New York Public Library" alt="New York in 1660, Digital ID 423109, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=423109&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">New York in 1660, Digital ID 423109, New York Public Library</span></span><strong>Physical library: </strong>Visitors need to check their coats and bags on the main floor in order to gain access to the library. Pencils and loose paper are provided in order for readers to take notes. The library is on the second floor.</p>
<p>Most of their materials are in closed stacks, so readers must page materials for the staff to retrieve. There were books in display cases, which I was told were more for show. In the main reading room, they have atlases, six computers with New-York Historical Society Library databases and access to the internet. They had some print journals on display, including <em><a href="http://wu9fb9wh4a.search.serialssolutions.com/?V=1.0&amp;N=100&amp;L=WU9FB9WH4A&amp;S=AC_T_B&amp;C=american+heritage" rel="nofollow">American Heritage</a></em>, <em><a href="http://wu9fb9wh4a.search.serialssolutions.com/?V=1.0&amp;N=100&amp;L=WU9FB9WH4A&amp;S=AC_T_B&amp;C=american+historical+review" rel="nofollow">The American Historical Review</a></em>, <em><a href="http://wu9fb9wh4a.search.serialssolutions.com/?V=1.0&amp;N=100&amp;L=WU9FB9WH4A&amp;S=AC_T_B&amp;C=journal+of+american+history" rel="nofollow">The Journal of American History</a></em>, and <em><a href="http://wu9fb9wh4a.search.serialssolutions.com/?V=1.0&amp;N=100&amp;L=WU9FB9WH4A&amp;S=AC_T_B&amp;C=new+york+ge" rel="nofollow">The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record</a></em>. It was very quiet in the library. They still have a card catalog that they use when the computers are down and the electronic catalog cannot be accessed. Staff and patrons also use the card catalog to access many records that Bobcat, their online catalog, does not contain.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a title="View in New York, 1746 / Geo. Hayward, Digital ID 423135, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?423135"><img width="200" height="123" title="View in New York, 1746 / Geo. Hayward, Digital ID 423135, New York Public Library" alt="View in New York, 1746 / Geo. Hayward, Digital ID 423135, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=423135&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">View in New York, 1746 / Geo. Hayward, Digital ID 423135, New York Public Library</span></span><strong>Recent Renovation of the Library</strong>: I was informed by our presenter (she gave a presentation to NYPL staff) that the library had been renovated in the summer of 2011. It was reopened in November. The library got new curtains and carpeting. The stained glass windows were removed piece-by-piece for cleaning to let the lights shine through more clearly. The library also got a new paint job, and they are working on getting new chandeliers. There is a gorgeous spiral staircase leading to the peripheral balcony of the library. The library also has Ionic Greek columns, which give it a very stately experience. Our presenter informed us that the space is often rented out for weddings and other special events. It is a very attractive, ritzy-looking library, so I can understand why people would want that space for their wedding or other special event.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><a title="The Stadthuys of New York in 1679 corner of Peal St. and Coentijs Slip / G. Hayward, Digital ID 421949, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?421949"><img width="200" height="177" title="The Stadthuys of New York in 1679 corner of Peal St. and Coentijs Slip / G. Hayward, Digital ID 421949, New York Public Library" alt="The Stadthuys of New York in 1679 corner of Peal St. and Coentijs Slip / G. Hayward, Digital ID 421949, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=421949&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">The Stadthuys of New York in 1679 corner of Peal St. and Coentijs Slip / G. Hayward, Digital ID 421949, New York Public Library</span></span><strong>Library Presentation: </strong>Our presenter was from the Manuscripts department, and she was very knowledgeable about the collections of NYHS and New York City history. She showed us several items which she had pulled from the collection, and she talked about the history behind the items. The NYHS collection consists of Manuscripts, General Collections, and Print Room.</p>
<p><strong>Plan of the city and environs of New York as they were in 1742-1744 (By David Grim), 1813 (General Collections): </strong>The map was drawn in 1813, and it shows the locations of buildings, such as churches, City Hall, and slaughterhouses.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a title="[Portrait of Walt Whitman, 1881.], Digital ID 427879, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?427879"><img width="200" height="247" title="[Portrait of Walt Whitman, 1881.], Digital ID 427879, New York Public Library" alt="[Portrait of Walt Whitman, 1881.], Digital ID 427879, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=427879&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">[Portrait of Walt Whitman, 1881.], Digital ID 427879, New York Public Library</span></span><strong>American Historical Manuscripts Collection (AHMC) - Whitman, Walt (Letters from Whitman to soldier's families.), 1862-1863: </strong>She also showed us letters from Walt Whitman to the families of fallen soldiers. Whitman believed that the form letter that informed families of loved ones' deaths was cold, so he wrote letters to the families, some of whom wrote him back.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><a title="Corps d&#039;Afrique, 1864. ,Brigade bandsman ; Sergeant of heavy artillery., Digital ID 1599724, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1599724"><img width="200" height="283" title="Corps d&#039;Afrique, 1864. ,Brigade bandsman ; Sergeant of heavy artillery., Digital ID 1599724, New York Public Library" alt="Corps d&#039;Afrique, 1864. ,Brigade bandsman ; Sergeant of heavy artillery., Digital ID 1599724, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=1599724&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">Corps d'Afrique, 1864. ,Brigade bandsman ; Sergeant of heavy artillery., Digital ID 1599724, New York Public Library</span></span><strong>BV Petitions (Petition to President Lincoln in support of forming African American troops during Civil War), around 1862 (Manuscripts): </strong>Hundreds of citizens of NYC signed a petition in early 1862 to promote the enlistment of African Americans in the army. This did occur; however, it was not implemented until after the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted.</p>
<p><strong>Lucky Strike advertisement, 1920s (Print Room): </strong>The advertisement for the cigarettes features a beautiful woman with a bloated, overweight shadow. The idea was to communicate that cigarettes could help as a weight-loss aide. (We did not, however, get to see a picture of the young woman's lungs.)</p>
<p><strong>AHMC - Ticker Tape (Last piece of ticker tape on eve of Stock Market Crash), 1929 (Manuscripts): </strong>Our presenter showed us the last piece of ticker tape used on October 29, 1929. Ticker tape was used to communicate stock market information over telegraph lines.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?g99c835_001"><img width="200" height="270" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=g99c835_001&amp;t=w" alt="" /></a></span><strong>The following are other Items that were presented: </strong></p>
<ul><li>AMHC - Harris, Clara (Letter detailing Lincoln's assassin (Manuscripts)</li>
<li>Naval History Society Collection (NHSC) - Point Lookout (Illustrated journal of POW during Civil War), 1864 (Manuscripts)</li>
<li>7th Regiment Collection (Photo Album), 1889 (Manuscripts)</li>
<li>Alexander Family Papers (Fabric samples of Mary Alexander), 1740s-1750s (Manuscripts)</li>
<li>AHMC - Harris, Clara (Letter detailing Lincoln's assassination), 1865 (Manuscripts)</li>
<li>AHMC - Yankee Stadium (Souvenir program on opening day), 1923 (Manuscripts)</li>
<li>BV Larned, Simon (Account Books), 1782 (Manuscripts)</li>
<li>New York Foundling Hospital (NYFH) - (Notes left on babies) - 1879 (Manuscripts)</li>
<li><em>The Revolution </em>(Newspaper of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton), 1868 (General Collections)</li>
<li>Pabst Blue Ribbon advertisement, 1890s (Print Room)</li>
</ul><p><strong>Childhood trip to Gettysburg: </strong>Listening to our presenter reminded me of going to historical museums during my childhood and seeing historic re-enactors (they have these at NYHS as well). In fact, our eighth-grade class took a trip together to go see the Gettysburg Museum, which was fascinating. My history teacher loved to take all of her eighth-graders to <a href="http://www.gettysburgfoundation.org/" rel="nofollow">Gettysburg</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Electronic library: </strong>The NYHS has an extensive website that includes a <a href="http://blog.nyhistory.org/" rel="nofollow">blog</a> and <a href="http://bobcat.library.nyu.edu/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=1&amp;dstmp=1335033742880&amp;vid=NYHS&amp;fromLogin=true" rel="nofollow">catalog</a>, which is posted weekly. The library does a fair amount of <a href="http://www.nyhistory.org/library_reference_forms" rel="nofollow">e-reference</a> for military historians and genealogists who cannot physically come to the library. In addition, scholars, students, authors, media representatives and staff from other cultural institutions send reference requests to NYHS. It is also good to do research on their website prior to arriving at the library, because researchers can request materials in advance.</p>
<ul><li><strong>Special Libraries Open to the Public: </strong>I am fascinated by special libraries and the number of specialized libraries in New York City that are open to the public. I was very glad to see all of the interesting historical documents that are housed in the NYHS Library. The New York City directories are among the most accessed materials in the general collections. Researchers are curious to know which building was where during a particular historical period. Also, genealogists visit the library to find out information about their relatives.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases?subject=&amp;location=&amp;audience=&amp;language=&amp;keyword=new%20york%20history&amp;limit=">New York History databases</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wu9fb9wh4a.search.serialssolutions.com/?V=1.0&amp;N=100&amp;L=WU9FB9WH4A&amp;S=T_W_A&amp;C=new+york+history" rel="nofollow">New York History journals</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/" rel="nofollow">Bronx County Historical Society</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.gothamcenter.org/" rel="nofollow">Gotham Center for New York History</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/historichouses" rel="nofollow">Historic Houses of New York City</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;q=new york city history&amp;commit=Search&amp;searchOpt=catalogue" rel="nofollow">Books on New York City history</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nypl.org/milstein">Milstein Division of U.S. History, Local History &amp; Genealogy</a> (at the Schwarzman Building, "the library with the lions")</li>
<li>Bronx History Collection at the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/bronx-library-center">Bronx Library Center</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/poecottage.html" rel="nofollow">Edgar Allan Poe cottage</a> (near the <a href="/locations/bronx-library-center" rel="nofollow">Bronx Library Center</a>) </li>
</ul>Genealogyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/07/23/special-library-focus-new-york-historical-society#commentsMon, 23 Jul 2012 11:59:02 -0400Direct Me NYC 1786: A History of City Directories in the United States and New York Cityhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/06/08/direct-me-1786-history-city-directories-US-NYC
Philip Sutton, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p>Before the telephone directory, there was the city directory, a book that listed the names, addresses, professions, and in some cases <a href="http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-a241-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99">ethnicity</a>, of people in a particular town or city. Many of these directories have been digitized for your perusal, or are available on microfilm, all at the New York Public Library.</p>
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<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img alt="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="300" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/macphers.inline vertical.jpg" title="" width="232" /></span></p>
<p>In New York City, city directories were printed between 1786 and 1934: the first telephone books began to appear in the late 1870s. Both forms of directory are interesting to researchers, historians and genealogists alike, for a number of reasons, not least because, like a census, directories tie an individual to a certain location at a particular point in time. Historical city directories are even more useful as a research tools than early telephone directories, because they are more inclusive: you don't need a telephone to be in a city directory. In addition to this, city directories offer up many more historical details. This post describes the history of city directories, how they might be useful to your research, and where you will find them at the New York Public Library.</p>
<h3>Early Directories</h3>
<p>Writing in the <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b13701147~S1">Bibliography of American Directories through 1860</a>,</em> Dorothea Spear suggests that the first directory was <em>The Companyes of all the Craftes or Mysteries of London, </em> a manuscript compiled by the Treasury of the Receipt of the Exchequer, in 1588. Edward Salisbury, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=OtYxAQAAIAAJ&amp;dq=The%20Companyes%20of%20all%20the%20Craftes%20or%20Mysteries%20of%20London%20Edward%20Salisbury&amp;pg=PA39#v=onepage&amp;q=The%20Companyes%20of%20all%20the%20Craftes%20or%20Mysteries%20of%20London%20Edward%20Salisbury&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow">writing in 1893</a>, suggested that the list was compiled because the then Mayor of London, Sir Richard Gresham, was alarmed by the City's lack of preparedness for domestic or international conflict. He wanted to be able to estimate the cost of providing armor and armaments to all of the Freemen of London, and to compel them to arm themselves. To do this, a directory would be compiled with "all the names of the members of the City "occupations' or livery companies, in order that the names and addresses of the freemen would be on record. Salisbury argues that an Act of Parliament, passed at Westminster on 16th January, 1641-2, provided for "the appointment of "commissioners to see that the inhabitants of cities and boroughs were properly provided with arms, etc," and that the directory of City Companies enabled the commissioners to ensure that "at least the liverymen and freemen of those Companies were no longer "ill provided with harness [arms and armor]."" (p.40-41).</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img alt="A Collection of the Names of the Merchants Living In and about the City of London, 1677" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="300" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/city_london_1677.inline vertical.jpg" title="A Collection of the Names of the Merchants Living In and about the City of London, 1677" width="198" /><span class="caption caption caption">A Collection of the Names of the Merchants Living In and about the City of London, 1677</span></span></p>
<p>The first print directory, eight pages long, is thought to be <em>The Names of all Suche Gentlemen of Acompte as Were Residing within the Citie of London, Liberties and Suburbs</em>, printed in 1595. The first substantial directory was <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b13694080~S1"><em>T</em><em>he Inhabitants of London in 1638</em></a>, which lists the names of individuals in 93 out of the 107 parishes in the City of London, although this directory is again in manuscript form. The oldest surviving printed directory is <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16252465~S1">A Collection of the Names of Merchants Living In and about The City of London</a></em>, printed for Samuel Lee in that city, in 1677. Lee's directory appeared some 12 years after the manuscript directory <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16883037~S1">A Directory for the City of New York in 1665</a></em>, compiled shortly after the British colonized New Amsterdam; the first known directory in what was to become the United States of America. </p>
<p>1752 saw the creation of the "first [printed] directory-type listing of inhabitants of an American city" (Spear, p.5), a broadside listing of English families in Baltimore, Maryland titled <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10099132~S1">The Following List of Families and Other Persons Residing in the Town of Baltimore, Was Taken in the Year 1752, by a Lady of Respectability</a></em>. An article from the August 28th, 1849 edition of the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/americas-historical-newspapers">Baltimore Sun</a>, suggests that the broadside may have been printed later (it lists events from 1756, which tends to support this assumption), and was actually only ever a manuscript, in the possession of one Joseph Townsend. The directory, nevertheless, describes Baltimore in colonial times, when the town, founded some 20 odd years before, had only 25 houses (see below for a c.1860 rendering from the Library's <a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?keyword=directory&amp;submit.x=0&amp;submit.y=0">Digital Gallery</a>). </p>
<p>The Baltimore directory does not identify the Lady of Respectability, but researching the mostly male names listed reveals a few candidates. <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11370952~S1">Baltimore County Families, 1659-1759 / Robert Barnes</a> describes the men listed in the directory, and gives the names of female family members, one of whom may be the author. Perhaps the Lady of Respectability was Sarah (Gill) Rogers, married by 1736, died 1792, wife of first listed landowner William Rogers (1691-1761)? Maybe it was her sister-in-law Henrietta Maria (Jones) Rogers, born 1728, wife of Nicholas Rogers (1721-1758)? Dr. William Lyons, presumably the town doctor, was married to a Miss Grahame, and Bryan Philpot's wife Mary, or Mrs. Nicholas Buxton Gay the former Ms. Ann Lux, married in 1750, and the wife of another landowner Alexander Lawson (1710-1761), the former Dorothy Smith, are further candidates. The author may have been the midwife, Mrs. Hughes, or Nancy Low, the only two women actually listed in the directory. That information appears lost to time.</p>
<p><a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1158167" title="Baltimore Town in 1752., Digital ID 1158167, New York Public Library"><img alt="Baltimore Town in 1752., Digital ID 1158167, New York Public Library" height="181" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=1158167&amp;t=w" title="Baltimore Town in 1752., Digital ID 1158167, New York Public Library" width="300" /></a></p>
<p>A tragic aside: we do know a little about Dorothy Lawson, we know that she lost three daughters, who fell through the ice, along with several other people, and drowned Christmas Eve, 1752. The children's demise was reported in newspapers as far away as Boston, often with a cautionary footnote about walking on frozen ponds attached: the names of the unfortunate daughters were not listed. City directories, as we have seen, record a mostly male history.</p>
<p>Asides from the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10099132~S1">South Carolina and Georgia Almanacks 1782 and '85</a>, which included very limited directory lists for Charleston, the first separately printed directory for anywhere in the United States, was <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16399571~S1">Macpherson's Directory for the City and Suburbs of Philadelphia</a></em>, published November 16th, 1785. Philadelphia was then inundated with directories, as 13 days later, Francis White published the United States second ever city directory, the inferior <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16408670~S1">Philadelphia Directory</a></em> of November 29th.</p>
<h2>The First City Directory in the United States</h2>
<p>It is probably no coincidence that it is just two years after the end of the Revolutionary War that the first city directories in the United States begin to appear. It might be argued that directories began to appear not just because they were practical reference tools, but also because the citizens of the new country desired to identify themselves, by name: this seems especially relevant in New York City, post the British evacuation in November, 1783. Students of American Literature might ponder that question. Perhaps also, it is no coincidence that the first directory was produced by an individual caught up in the fight for independence, a man of action, and letters. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.clan-macpherson.org/museum/mem/039m_captjohn.html" rel="nofollow">Captain John Macpherson (1726-1792)</a> leaves a not inconsiderable legacy. Born in Edinburgh, the nephew of Lachlan Macpherson, the 17th Chief of the Clan Macpherson, he served as a privateer for the British, during the Seven Years War (1754-1763), commanding the warship <em>B</em><em>ritannia. </em>For his services he lost an arm, but gained a fortune, which he used to build a mansion, named <em>Mount Pleasant, </em>which stands today, a historic building in Philadelphia, Pa.. During the Revolutionary War <a href="http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/59819.html" rel="nofollow">Macpherson</a> sided with the patriots, paying for the construction of five man-o-war battleships, which he donated to the Pennsylvania Navy, and he applied to the Continental Congress for command of the Continental Navy, though his application was not successful. He next submitted a plan to George Washington, to destroy the British Navy in Boston harbor, with the Congress's approval, but his plan was rejected. Macpherson later claimed to have infiltrated Hessian lines at Trenton, from where he sent back information vital to Washington's success there. The war was to claim his eldest son <a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?422940">John</a>, who died fighting in Quebec.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img alt="Sunrise and sunset times for the first six months of 1857, from Trow&#039;s city directory of that year." class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="300" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/trowssunriseset.inline vertical.jpg" title="Sunrise and sunset times for the first six months of 1857, from Trow&#039;s city directory of that year." width="175" /><span class="caption caption caption">Sunrise and sunset times for the first six months of 1857, from Trow's city directory of that year.</span></span></p>
<p>After the war Macpherson spent the rest of his life involved in a startling variety of projects. He lectured on astronomy and natural sciences; set himself up as a broker, buying and selling almost anything, including ships, produce, and, sadly, slaves; he wrote plays and pamphlets, patented a number of inventions (none very useful), and published the first US trade paper, the <em>Price-Current. </em>Macpherson seems to have not been an unassuming character, becoming embroiled in a number of heated debates with other prominent Philadelphians, getting so excited that he was at one point institutionalized for 3 months, charged with insanity: his wife seems to have successfully campaigned to clear his name.</p>
<p>On April 14th, 1785, the <em><a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/americas-historical-newspapers">Pennsylvania Packet</a> </em>announced that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mr. Macpherson has undertaken to number the houses, and publish a directory of the names of the inhabitants of this city. This, if properly executed, as we have no doubt it will, must prove of the utmost utility; and we recommend the undertaking to the encouragement of the public, as we recommend expedition to Mr. Macpherson. The charge for numbering each house, and furnishing a directory, is so low as half a dollar.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As with most public spirited enterprises, the price of the directory rose, for non-subscribers, to one dollar, because, as Macpherson announced in July, 1785, the directory would be "at least three times as large as he had expected; and his expense four times as much." As with many of the early compilers of city directories, like his New York contemporary, David Franks, Macpherson was not a publisher or printer by trade, rather he was a man of enterprise. It was not until the turn of the century that printers and publishers like David Longworth, John Doggett, and then John F. Trow would produce city directories.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img alt=" Fancy Job Printer, 377 - 379 Broadway, Corner of White Street, New York, 1856, from that year&#039;s directory." class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="269" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/trows_building.inline vertical.jpg" title=" Fancy Job Printer, 377 - 379 Broadway, Corner of White Street, New York, 1856, from that year&#039;s directory." width="300" /><span class="caption caption caption">John F. Trow: Fancy Job Printer, 377 - 379 Broadway, Corner of White Street, New York, 1856, from that year's directory.</span></span></p>
<p>Macpherson's directory is arranged alphabetically, and contains approximately 6,400 entries, arranged last name first, with street address and, where available, a house number. In addition, the directory contains a street directory showing the numbers of houses that were empty, or "inhabited by people that would not give their names." For its period, it is a very good directory. Francis White's <em>Philadelphia Directory </em>by comparison, is very sloppy, only arranged by the first letter (for instance, all names beginning with F are clumped together, but not in any order), with few, if any street numbers.</p>
<h2>New York's City Directories</h2>
<p>The first directory in New York City was <em><a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_5684790_000/index.html" rel="nofollow">The New-York Directory</a></em>, published by <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_5684790_000/pages/ldpd_5684790_000_00000112.html" rel="nofollow">David Carroll Franks</a> in 1786: you can see versions of it at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=nuUYAAAAYAAJ&amp;dq=franks%20directory%201786&amp;pg=PP2#v=onepage&amp;q=franks%20directory%201786&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow">Google Books</a>, or the <a href="http://archive.org/stream/cu31924080795390#page/n7/mode/2up" rel="nofollow">Internet Archive</a>, and you can read more about the directory itself <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/12/14/look-book-city-directory">here</a>. Franks is a fairly obscure figure. He was born in Ireland, probably Dublin, in 1759, possibly to Thomas and Margery Franks. Franks Snr. is described in Franks' city directory as an "eminent attorney in Dublin," and Franks followed his father into the same profession, setting up first as a conveyancer and accountant, then as Attorney at Law, sometime after his arrival in New York, in the mid-1780s. <em>The Daily Advertiser</em> of May 28, 1786, lists the firm of Franks, &amp; Co. as practicing at 24 Water Street, and his lodgings were at 66 Broadway, the address from which he issued his city directory. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, it seems that Franks' time in New York was not a great success. Despite publishing a second directory, in 1787, and advertising for subscriptions for a book, <em>The American System of Arithmetic, and Book-Keeping,</em> and his being<em> </em>listed as an attorney, witnessing two wills in 1786, (<em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b13701172~S1">Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York</a>), </em>Franks'<em> </em>book went unpublished, and his career faltered. By January 1788 he is described in the <em>New-York Journal </em>as an "insolvent debtor," his estate up for auction to pay off creditors. Then, Franks disappears. He does not feature in the 1789 New York City Directory, published by Hodge, Allan, and Campbell, nor is he listed as resident in New York City in the first United States Federal Census, of 1790, he does appear in the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15532189~S1">Index of Marriages and Deaths in New York Weekly museum, 1788-1817</a>, nor in lists of vital or probate records. It should be noted, that compared to Macpherson's Philadelphia directory, Franks' effort is, sadly, a rather poor directory: names are arranged by first letter, sometimes by the first name, sometimes the second, and as noted, with many fewer entries, only 856 names from a population of over 24,000 people.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img alt="The New-York Directory (1786)" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="300" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/franks1786.inline vertical.jpg" title="The New-York Directory (1786)" width="164" /><span class="caption caption caption">The New-York Directory (1786)</span></span></p>
<p>There was no New York City directory for 1788. The printers Hodge, Allen, and Campbell published directories, between 1789 and 1792, as did William Duncan, between 1792 and 1795. There then followed 45 editions of the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16392084~S1"><em>The </em><em>American Almanack, New-York Register, and City Directory</em></a>, published by David and Thomas Longworth, between 1796 and 1843. The 1800 edition lists 10,200 people resident in New York City. Jackson's <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18696861~S1">Encyclopedia of New York</a> </em>describe the directory as a listing of the "names, occupations, and addresses of the city's heads of households (mostly men), [...] homemakers (mostly widows, and women who owned businesses), and business partnerships, as well as lists of judges, politicians, ministers, and fraternal organizations." (p.257), and this stands as a good description in general of city directories throughout the 19th-century. Longworth's directories listed approximately one in five New Yorkers, against Franks' one in thirty, and were the first to include advertisements.</p>
<p>Publisher John Doggett Jnr. produced nine editions of <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15325059~S1">Doggett's New-York City Directory</a>, between 1841 and 1849, with additional editions published through 1851 in conjunction with the publisher Charles R. Rode. They are a fine directory, well printed, and full of useful historical information. One of the more interesting features of Doggett's 1845 &amp; 1846 directory (containing the names of some 61,333 New Yorkers), is an entry titled "Removals, So far ascertained by <a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&amp;strucID=1786214&amp;imageID=1650826&amp;total=10&amp;num=0&amp;word=fire%201845&amp;s=1&amp;notword=&amp;d=&amp;c=&amp;f=&amp;k=0&amp;lWord=&amp;lField=&amp;sScope=&amp;sLevel=&amp;sLabel=&amp;sort=&amp;imgs=20&amp;pos=5&amp;e=w">the Great Fire, July 19th, 1845</a>," an inventory of people caught up in the fire, by name and address, that includes information about what buildings were destroyed, and who was made homeless. The directory also features colored pages of advertisements, tipped into the directory, and was priced at 18 shillings.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img alt="Doggett&#039;s New York City Street Directory, for 1851" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="300" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/doggetts1851.inline vertical.jpg" title="Doggett&#039;s New York City Street Directory, for 1851" width="171" /><span class="caption caption caption">Doggett's New York City Street Directory, for 1851</span></span></p>
<p>Perhaps the most useful of Doggett's directories, is the <em>New York City Street Directory, for 1851</em>, priced $5, which, sadly for genealogists, and building historians alike, was the only edition produced. Sad because this directory is a rare example of a nineteenth century street directory, that lists people by address, and then name. If you want to know who lived in your house in 1851, or if you need a directory to help you search the 1850 Federal census by address, then this is an invaluable resource. Printed on long-lasting cotton paper, this directory is, unlike many of the wood pulp directories of later years, still in daily use in the Milstein Division. It should also be noted that the earliest example of a street directory for New York City available in the Milstein Division is <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11343493~S1">Elliot's Improved New York Double Directory,</a> </em>from 1812. Published by William Elliot, this directory is actually two directories, one searchable by name, the other by address. Street, or address directories were not to become commonplace in New York until the late 1920s. Elliot's street directory is available on <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11343493~S1">microfilm</a>, or digitized through the database <em><a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/america%E2%80%99s-historical-imprints">Early American Imprints</a></em>, the location of many of the directories so far mentioned.</p>
<p>Born in Andover, Massachusetts, John Fowler Trow (1810-1886) was president of the Trow City Directory Company. His company published New York City directories beginning in 1852, for over 60 years, and his directories were the first to feature advertisements in the borders of their pages, an innovation brought on by a fall in advertising revenue during the Civil War. Trow died in 1886, shortly after the 100th anniversary of the publication of Franks' directory. The <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/new-york-times-1851-2005">New York Times</a> marked the occasion by comparing Trow's latest directory with the first. The Times noted that the 1886 <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10987269~S1">Trow New York City Directory</a> comprised 2,166 pages, and listed the names of 313,992 New Yorkers, from a population of 1,569,950 (again one fifth of the population).</p>
<p>Trow also published a seperate street directory, a <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15238488~S1">directory of business partnerships</a>, and a <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11750502~S1">business directory</a>. These were consolidated into a single directory in 1915, when Detroit directory publisher Ralph R. Polk, bought out Trow's publishing, though the directory continued to be issued under the name of Trow. With the advent of the telephone, and the telephone directory, the publication of New York City directories became sporadic, with patchy coverage through the 1920s, until the last directory, published by the Emergency Unemployment Relief Committee, appeared for the years 1933/34, in 1932. City directories continued to be published in places around the United States until as late as the 1960s.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img alt=" city directories reflect the growth in population of New York City" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="107" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/photo_1.inline vertical.jpg" title=" city directories reflect the growth in population of New York City" width="300" /><span class="caption caption caption">1934 back to 1786: city directories reflect the growth in population of New York City</span></span></p>
<h2>Uses</h2>
<p>City directories were intended to be used for a year, and then discarded. In the 21st century, these ephemeral tomes have become an invaluable primary resource, material that contains first-hand evidence of historical events, and of people and places. As such, directories are a boon to all sorts of research topic: below are just a few suggestions as to how city directories might be useful.</p>
<h3>Genealogy</h3>
<p>City directories help a family historian locate people in a place and time. They are also useful for:</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img alt="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="300" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/doggetts_1845ad3.inline vertical.jpg" title="" width="175" /></span></p>
<ul><li>Searching censuses by address: if you are having difficulty finding a name listed, you might try to search the census by an address found in a city directory?</li>
<li>Searching years between censuses: perhaps your ancestor lived in a city between censuses?</li>
<li>Acting as a census substitute: the 1890 census was mostly lost in a fire in the 1920s: a city directory may be the only record of your ancestor at that time.</li>
<li>Identifying a date of death: if you're finding it hard to locate a date of death, then browse through city directories: if your male ancestor's spouse is suddenly listed as a widow, then you'll have a fair idea of the date of death.</li>
<li>Who else lived at an address: you can use a street directory to discover who else lived with your ancestor.</li>
<li>Life changes – e.g. career changes over years: one year your ancestor is a plumber, the next he owns a hardware store.</li>
<li>Verify other documents, e.g. the address on a WW1 Draft Card. Often in genealogy information in one document gains credibility when confirmed by information in another.</li>
<li>Pointers to other documents / areas of research, e.g. the location of probate records, or property deeds. If you know where your ancestor was living, you might use that information to search of other records.</li>
<li>Identifying the location of churches, schools, and fraternal organizations that your ancestor may have attended.</li>
</ul><h3>Researching a historic narrative </h3>
<p>Perhaps you are researching a chapter for a novel set in the late eighteenth century, and you want your narrative to appear realistic. You are writing a scene where your character needs to get from New York to Philadelphia, in the summer of 1790. A city directory can help you make that scene historically accurate. In <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16401365~S1">The New-York directory, and register, for the year 1790</a> we learn that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The New York and Philadelphia diligence [a stage coach also carrying mail] leaves the house of Mr. Smith at Paules-Hooke, every morning, from the 1st of May to the 1st of September, at nine o'clock; and from the 1st of November to the 1st of May, at ten o'clock every morning, except Saturday and Sunday. [...] The fare [...] is three dollars [...] 14lb baggage allowed gratis to each passenger. (pp.3-4)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can even tell if it would have been light when the passenger began his journey, as most early city directories include the times for sunrise and sunset for the year.</p>
<h6><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img alt="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="300" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/picture3.inline vertical.jpg" title="" width="183" /></span></h6>
<h3>Images</h3>
<p>Considering one might think of directories as purely textual, they can be a surprisingly rich source of images. City directories often contain, for instance, images of buildings, ostensibly places of business; shops, factories, and so forth. An illustration of the building was often included in advertisements, so that readers might not only learn the address of a business, but also what it looked like: a common feature of early advertising. Many of these buildings, especially in an area like New York City, are now long gone, and an image in a city directory may be the only one available.</p>
<p>City directories, and associated business directories, are also rich source of early advertising images, from simple text heavy ads describing in great detail services offered, through illustrations of goods and stores, to the early use of photography to sell a product.</p>
<h3>Maps</h3>
<p>Many early city directories double up as gazetteers, describing in great detail how a city worked, listing the names and addresses of local government institutions, the location of schools, hospitals, fraternal organizations, and churches, and the times for sunrise and sunset, stage coach and steam boat arrivals and departures, and street directories. Early directories often include a map, sometimes quite elaborate fold-out affairs. Shown below is <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11651211~S1">Doggett's New York Business Directory </a></em>(1846), with a particularly splendid example.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img alt="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="246" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/city_map_2.inline vertical.jpg" title="" width="300" /></span></p>
<h2>Business, Street and Elite Directories</h2>
<p>In addition to the plethora of United States city directories available in one form or another from the New York Public Library, mention should also be made of the variant types of directory that appeared over the years. Some examples are:</p>
<h3>Business directories</h3>
<p>Early city directories often included the names, addresses <em>and</em> professions of people, or perhaps combined separate business and residential listings. One of the first specialized business directories to arrange entries by the services offered, is <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16401327~S1">The New Trade Directory for New‐York, anno 1800</a></em>, available through the onsite database <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/america%E2%80%99s-historical-imprints">America's Historical Imprints</a>. Two popular business directories for New York in the 19th and early 20th centuries were <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11750502~S1"><em>Trow Business Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, City of New York</em> </a>(1848/49‐1909) and <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10832566~S1">Phillips Classified Directory of Greater New York </a></em> [...] (1879‐1958). Brooklyn, pre-unification, was covered by, amongst others, <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10833690~S1">Lain and Healy’s Brooklyn and Long Island Business Directory </a></em>(1874‐1894).</p>
<h3>Street Directories</h3>
<p>Directories that list people by address, rather than name, in New York City, are few and far between until the late 1920s. Doggett's <em>New York City Street Directory, for 1851 </em>and <em>Elliot's Improved New York Double Directory </em>(1812), are two, but they are not the only 19th-century directories searchable by address...</p>
<h3>Elite Directories <strong><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img alt="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="300" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/phillips_elite.inline vertical.jpg" title="" width="211" /></span></strong></h3>
<p>Elite directories, the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11828737~S1">Social Register</a> being the most well know, list the names and addresses of the social elite, polite society, or the upper stratum: the elite. Regardless of what that actually means, some elite directories, such as the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16764397~S1">Brooklyn Blue Book</a>, or Phillip's Elite Directory (1874-1908) are searchable by address, and as such are wonderful resources for establishing who lived at a given address. The 1891-92 edition of the latter features a red leather cover, pink pages, and gold trim, design details that perhaps suggest the directory's intended audience, implied by the title: <em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15106547~S1">Phillip's Elite Directory of Private Families and Ladies Visiting and Shopping Guide for New York City.</a></em></p>
<h2>City Directories Available at the New York Public Library</h2>
<h3><strong>Searching the catalog</strong></h3>
<p>City Directories can be found the catalog using the following subject terms:</p>
<p>City directories:<br />
[city] ([state]) – Directories<br />
e.g. <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dNew+York+%28N.Y.%29+{u2013}+Directories/dnew+york+n+y+directories/1%2C7%2C203%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnew+york+n+y+directories&amp;1%2C196%2C/indexsort=-">New York (N.Y.) – Directories</a>, <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=d&amp;searcharg=Dunkirk+%28N.Y.%29+%E2%80%93+Directories&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dNew+York+%28N.Y.%29+%7Bu2013%7D+Directories">Dunkirk (N.Y.) – Directories</a>, <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1/?searchtype=d&amp;searcharg=Brooklyn+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.%29+-+Directories+&amp;searchscope=1&amp;sortdropdown=-&amp;SORT=D&amp;extended=0&amp;SUBMIT=Search&amp;searchlimits=&amp;searchorigarg=dDunkirk+%28N.Y.%29+%7Bu2013%7D+Directories">Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) - Directories</a></p>
<p>Business directories:<br />
[city] ([state]) – Commerce – Directories<br />
e.g. <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dNew+York+%28N.Y.%29+{u2013}+Commerce+{u2013}+Directories+/dnew+york+n+y+commerce+directories/1%2C2%2C42%2CB/exact&amp;FF=dnew+york+n+y+commerce+directories&amp;1%2C41%2C/indexsort=-">New York (N.Y.) – Commerce – Directories</a></p>
<p>Elite directories: Social registers or keyword “elite directories.”</p>
<h2><br /><strong>Digitized City Directories</strong></h2>
<p>Most United States city directories are available in one form or another, here at the New York Public library. Onsite, you can access digitized directories at the following databases.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/footnote">Fold3</a></h3>
<p>Available onsite in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, this database features city directories, one for each year, for 30 major US cities, starting in 1785, and includes a selection of smaller city directories for locations in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The directories are searchable by name, and browsable by year, and are a mix of city and business directories.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">Ancestry Library Edition</a> <span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img alt="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" height="216" src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/city_directory_ad.inline vertical.jpg" title="" width="300" /></span></h3>
<p>This popular genealogy database includes a selection of city directories, searchable by name, and by state, city, and date.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/america%E2%80%99s-historical-imprints">America's Historical Imprints</a></h3>
<p>An invaluable resource for accessing late 18th- and early 19th-century American city directories. Though not indexed, these directories are generally small enough to be searched by browsing.</p>
<p>In addition to these resources, numerous city directories have been digitized by <a href="http://books.google.com/bkshp?hl=en&amp;tab=wp" rel="nofollow">Google Books</a>, and the <a href="http://archive.org/index.php" rel="nofollow">Internet Archive</a>, and by a number of libraries, museums, genealogy groups, and historical societies.</p>
<h3><strong>City Directories on Microfilm</strong></h3>
<p>Most city directories published in the United States, including some of the earliest efforts, Baltimore's <em>The Following List of Families</em> for instance, are available on microfiche and film in the Milstein Division (telephone directories are available from the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/microforms">Microform Reading Room</a>). The two most important collections are:</p>
<p><em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10099132~S1">American Directories through 1860: A Collection of Microfiche</a></em> *XMG-156</p>
<p>City directories, from the earliest to 1860. Compiled from the collections of nearly 100 libraries in the United States, described in detail in Spear's <em>Bibliography of American Directories through 1860</em> , and comprised of 6,292 microfiche.</p>
<p><em><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10987269~S1">United States city directories [microforms] </a></em>*ZAN-G67</p>
<p>City directories for most United States cities, from 1861 to 1965. Includes some business directories.</p>
<p><a href="http://microformguides.gale.com/SearchForm.asp" rel="nofollow">Primary Source Media</a> has a very useful online page for searching exactly which cities and towns have microfilmed directories. Directories for smaller towns are often included / combined with bigger city directories: a search of this site will reveal where: simply set the <em>Collection Titles </em>to <em>City Directories</em>, and enter the location in the keyword search box.</p>
<h2>Free City Directories Online</h2>
<p>There are a number of city directories available free online, digitized by institutions like libraries, historical societies, museums and universities. Below is a selection.</p>
<p><strong><span>New York County (Manhattan).</span></strong><br /><span>Frank’s The New York directory, 1786 : </span><a href="http://archive.org/details/cu31924080795390" rel="nofollow"><span>http://archive.org/details/cu31924080795390</span></a><br /><span>Longworth's American almanack, 1797: </span><a href="http://archive.org/details/longworthsameric18256long" rel="nofollow"><span>http://archive.org/details/longworthsameric18256long</span></a><br /><span>Longworth's American almanack, 1808: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/12nQRRW" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/12nQRRW</span></a><br /><span>Longworth's American almanack, 1816: </span><a href="http://archive.org/details/longworthsameric1839newy" rel="nofollow"><span>http://archive.org/details/longworthsameric1839newy</span></a><span> </span><br /><span>Longworth's American almanack, 1827: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/W9rcsX" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/W9rcsX</span></a><br /><span>Longworth's American almanack, 1834: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/SjZ60q" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/SjZ60q</span></a><br /><span>Longworth's American almanack, 1837: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/W9qQTh" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/W9qQTh</span></a><br /><span>Doggett’s, 1845: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/nczXbF" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/nczXbF</span></a><br /><span>Trow’s, 1865: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/UY8ohJ" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/UY8ohJ</span></a><br /><span>Trow’s, 1872: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/TZhlX0" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/TZhlX0</span></a><br /><br /><br /><strong><span>Brooklyn City Directories</span></strong></p>
<p><span>Covering the years 1856-1908, digitized by Brooklyn Public Library: </span><a href="http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/brooklyn-collection/digitized-brooklyn-city-directories" rel="nofollow"><span>http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/brooklyn-collection/digitized-brooklyn-city-directories</span></a><br /><br /><strong><span>Some other digitized city directories</span></strong><br />
Below is a selection of city directories from the United States and elsewhere.</p>
<p><br /><span>Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia City Directories Online, 1837-1867: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/YhE7NM" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/YhE7NM</span></a><br /><span>Colorado Springs, 1879-1922: </span><a href="http://ppgs.org/content/colorado-springs-city-directories" rel="nofollow"><span>http://ppgs.org/content/colorado-springs-city-directories</span></a><br /><span>Historic Pittsburgh, City Directories, 1815-1945: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/Zdvchz" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/Zdvchz</span></a><span> </span><br /><span>Oshkosh Online City Directories, 1857-1922: </span><a href="http://www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org/citydirs.html" rel="nofollow"><span>http://www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org/citydirs.html</span></a><span> </span><br /><span>Cincinnati, Norwood, and Hamilton County city directories [1819-1941]: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/hO0ldv" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/hO0ldv</span></a><br /><span>Houston Public Library: Houston Area Digital Archives: city directories [e.g.1899]: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/UElwoH" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/UElwoH</span></a><br /><span>University of North Carolina Library: Digital NC: Directory of Moore County [1925]: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/R2kpSF" rel="nofollow"><span>http://bit.ly/R2kpSF</span></a><br /><span>Vancouver Public Library: British Columbia City Directories, 1860-1952: </span><a href="http://www.vpl.ca/bccd/index.php" rel="nofollow"><span>http://www.vpl.ca/bccd/index.php</span></a><br /><span>Indiana University: Indiana city directories, 1858-1980: </span><a href="http://ulib.iupui.edu/digitalscholarship/collections/icd" rel="nofollow"><span>http://ulib.iupui.edu/digitalscholarship/collections/icd</span></a><br /><span>Scottish Post Office Directories, 1773-1911: </span><a href="http://digital.nls.uk/directories/index.html" rel="nofollow"><span>http://digital.nls.uk/directories/index.html</span></a></p>
<h2>Suggested Reading</h2>
<ul><li>Directories / Gordon L. Remmington from <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16298631~S1">The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy</a> / Eds. Szucs, Loretto Dennis &amp; Luebking, Sandra Hargreaves (2006)</li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b13701147~S1">Bibliography of American Directories through 1860</a> / Dorothea N. Spears (1960)</li>
<li>City Directories of the United States Pre-1860-1901: Guide to the Microfilm Collection / Research Publications (1983)</li>
</ul>Genealogyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/06/08/direct-me-1786-history-city-directories-US-NYC#commentsFri, 08 Jun 2012 13:09:55 -0400Connections in Unlikely Places: A WWII Genealogy Storyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/05/23/connections-unlikely-places-wwii-genealogy
Phyllis Trager<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/scan_111340000.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="377" height="540" /></span></p>
<p>Many patrons arrive at the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein-division-us-history-local-history-genealogy">Milstein Division of U.S. History, Local History and Genealogy</a> with questions and something more. Often it is a letter written long ago, an address of a deceased cousin, or a sepia toned photograph from 1930. All are talismans from which patrons begin their family research.</p>
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<p>This photo is my maternal uncle, Sgt. Phillip M. Carlon, 451st Bomber Group, U.S. Army Aircorps. Uncle Phil sits on the barrack steps at Stuart Airfield in Illinois. Outfitted for the chilly temperatures of high altitudes, he's smiling like a 10 year old all dressed up for a party in his Army issue brown leather jacket, with its sheep skinned collar pulled up around his neck, and in his lap the leather cap of an airman. It is January 1944. On October 14th of that same year Phillip Carlon became another casualty of World War II. He is my family's war hero. His photo is my talisman.</p>
<p>I feel lucky to have a few of his letters home from his three years of service. I also have the complete edition of the Wilmington Evening Journal of October 22, 1944. The editors of the paper chose Carlon's official and solemn military portrait for its front page with the headline "Aerial Gunner Killed on Raid Over Germany." The article reported, "Overseas only since August, Sgt. Carlon wrote on Oct. 13 that he had returned from a mission so difficult and dangerous that it would be counted as two missions on his bomber's list of missions. He was reported killed in action on the following day."</p>
<p>Like all researchers, I would like more. From the <a href="http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/" rel="nofollow">National Personnel Records Center, a part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)</a>, located in St. Louis, Missouri, I have learned that a massive cache of Military Personnel records, especially for Army and Air Force soldiers of World War II, was <a href="http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/fire-1973.html" rel="nofollow">lost in a 1973 fire</a>. Sgt. Phillip M. Carlon's, Uncle Phil's, are among them. My project goes on hold until serendipity strikes.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/bomber_country.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="201" height="300" /></span>A friend hands me a book for vacation reading. "Here's a book about World War II and poetry. Try it." Daniel Swift's <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/18625264052_bomber_county" rel="nofollow">Bomber County: The Poetry of a Lost Pilot's War</a> is a beautiful book. Swift, an assistant professor of literature at Skidmore College, writes of his grandfather, an RAF pilot who trained on the East Anglia coast and was shot down over Holland during Britain's bombing war against Germany. Swift's grandfather and my uncle seem an unlikely pairing. An RAF pilot and a U.S. Army ball turret gunner. An Englishman and an American. One flying air strikes across the North Sea on Germany and Phil part of the air support for the U.S. army advancing up the spine of Italy. I find out differently.</p>
<p>The prologue to Bomber Country provides my inspiration. Swift explains that he and his father had traveled to Holland to the beach where his grandfather was shot down and to the Dutch cemetery where his grandfather was buried. The writer continues, "I'm not sure we wanted to find him in the end: I think we probably wanted to invent my grandfather for ourselves. I think I wanted to tell a story...". We family researchers all want to tell our stories.</p>
<p>But, I want hard facts to complete the little I know of my uncle's story. I start with the Milstein Division's online searching tool <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">Ancestry Library Edition</a>. I find my uncle, Phillip M Carlon's name in U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records. I know most of the information: Education 4 years of high school, single without dependents. The last data are height and weight. From the Carlon family of big, strapping men, Phil was a mere 67 inches (5'7") tall and weighed 140 pounds in August, 1941. I search for other Carlons; the spelling of our surname is unusual. I find from U.S. Veterans Gravesites an entry for Rudolfo Robles Carlon interred at Golden Gate National Cemetery on July 9, 1946. A Hispanic addition to our Scotch Irish Carlons.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/reporting_wwii.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="179" height="300" /></span>Daniel Swift in Bomber County includes a notes section at the end. Arranged by chapter it is good reading and instructive even to an amateur researcher. Every pertinent U.S. source related to my project can be found in NYPL's collection here at the Milstein Division at the Stephen A. Schwarzman building on 42nd Street. <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/15210747052_the_united_states_strategic_bombing_surveys" rel="nofollow"><em>The United States Strategic Bombing Surveys</em></a>, an important source for Swift, gives me a detailed account of the air campaign in Italy. Swift cites the American reports on London by Ernie Pyle, Janet Flanner and Edward R. Murrow which are collected in Samuel Hynes' <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/17357876052_reporting_world_war_ii" rel="nofollow">Reporting World War II: American Journalism 1938-1945</a>. A search of NYPL's catalog yields <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Ernie+Pyle&amp;commit=Search&amp;searchOpt=catalogue" rel="nofollow">31 entries for Ernie Pyle</a>. <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/15326002052_brave_men" rel="nofollow"><em>Brave Men</em></a> includes whole chapters on the Italian campaign, Uncle Phil's part of the war. Many of the war correspondents were close to the troops, but Ernie Pyle was a hero to the soldiers he traveled with and the American public who followed his dispatches as though each was written by a loved one. In the index to Brave Men I find an entry for Wilmington, Delaware and Sergeant Sam Lynch. Pyle, on board a supply ship at Anzio, wrote, "Our crew boss was Sergeant Sam Lynch of 2411 West Street, Wilmington, Delaware." I can picture that block of West Street, almost the Carlon's, my family's side of town.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/margaret.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="247" height="300" /></span>NYPL's <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/" rel="nofollow">online catalog</a> gives me more sources. There is the renowned photojournalist, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/17863514052_margaret_bourke-white" rel="nofollow">Margaret Bourke-White</a>'s <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/12571328052_they_called_it_quotpurple_heart_valleyquot" rel="nofollow"><em>They Called It "Purple Heart Valley"</em></a>, a combat chronicle of the war in Italy which depicts a stark reality of that war or any war. Among many first person accounts is <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/15476303052_a_bomber_pilot_in_wwii" rel="nofollow"><em>A Bomber Pilot in WWII: From Farm Boy to Pilot: 35 Missions in the B-24 Liberator Bomber</em></a> by Walter F. Hughes.</p>
<p>My gratitude to Swift the war historian is enormous. The reader learns that the immense destruction of people and place came from all combatants, the Allies and the German Reich. The sections about the American poets and their poetry bring me unexpectedly to Phil again. The American poet, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?q=%22Jarrell%2C+Randall%22&amp;search_category=author&amp;t=author" rel="nofollow">Randall Jarrell</a> was stationed in Texas. Phil earned his gunner's wings at Harlingen Army Air Base in Texas. Jarrell moved on to a base in Illinois. Phil made the same move. I remember Jarrell as the author of the whimsical, children's book <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/17469187052_the_bat-poet" rel="nofollow"><em>The Bat Poet</em></a>. His war poetry is far from that and brings me to the painful reality of Phil's position in a plane as a gunner with the poem "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_the_Ball_Turret_Gunner" rel="nofollow">Death of a Ball Turret Gunner</a>." <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15922521~S101">Jarrell's journals</a> from his time at those bases are right here at NYPL.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/good_war.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="200" height="300" /></span>John Ciardi, another American poet and an amateur pilot enlisted right after Pearl Harbor. Like Phil, Ciardi was trained as control gunner on B-29s, in charge of the twin guns at the upper rear turret. Ciardi survived the war. Forty years later in an interview with oral historian <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/17085599052_quotthe_good_warquot" rel="nofollow">Studs Terkel's <em>"The Good War:" An Oral History of World War Two</em></a>. Ciardi recounted his reassignment from combat duty to literary duty. "We need somebody with combat experience who can write. You've taught college English, you've published...You're now working for me.'...Ciardi spent the next six months in an office...writing condolences and citations."</p>
<p>I only recently discovered the condolence letter written to my grandmother. On onion skin paper a carbon on the original letter includes the usual expression or sorrow and ends, "After crossing the eastern border of Italy, the plane encountered a heavy rainstorm. Visibility was almost impossible. The craft on which your son was armorer-gunner crashed into a mountain, killing the entire crew instantly." The letter is signed: "Very sincerely yours, N. F. Twining, Major General, USA, Commanding, General." Twining didn't sit up late at night writing that condolence letter. It would have taken a poet or writer of fiction to compose it.</p>
<p>Back to Swift's personal take on Ciaridi "like my grandfather, he was twenty-eight years old when he completed training, and the oldest man on his crew." Uncle Phil was the same age. Was he the oldest man in his crew?</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/iliad.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="194" height="300" /></span>I leave Swift's Bomber Country and my searches of NYPL's catalog with solid references and a realization my own family story can be found in unlikely places. I want to reread the <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/17990590052_the_iliad" rel="nofollow"><em>The Iliad</em></a>, the first mythic war story, Stud's Terkel's interviews, and learn more about the Italian campaign.</p>
<p>I cannot do justice to Daniel Swift, the writer, and his elegant tapestry of a book. Bomber County is a story of loss, of family, of poetry, the literary imagination, and the destruction of war. It is a book not to be missed.</p>
<p>I sort my papers. I look again at Philip Carlon's 1941 enlistment record, the most tangible of my new discoveries. I read again his height of 5'7" tall and his weight of 140 pounds. Uncle Phil and I could have stood almost eye to eye had we been able to face each other in my adult life.</p>Genealogyhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/05/23/connections-unlikely-places-wwii-genealogy#commentsWed, 23 May 2012 17:59:55 -0400Direct Me NYC: NYPL Helps You Find New Yorkers in the 1940 Censushttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/04/02/direct-me-nyc-find-new-yorkers-1940-census
Carmen Nigro, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p><a href="http://directme.nypl.org"><span class="inline inline inline-middle inline-middle"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/screen_shot_2012-04-02_at_11.13.35_am.img_assist_custom_3.png" alt="" title="" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="539" height="464" /></span></a></p>
<p>The genealogy world is buzzing with today’s release of the 1940 Federal Census, but some have been disappointed to discover that the newly released data cannot yet be searched by name. Never fear, NYPL to the rescue!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/labs">NYPL Labs</a> has created a fantastic new online tool to help you locate New Yorkers in 1940. In conjunction with the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/milstein">Milstein Division</a>, <a href="http://stevemorse.org/" rel="nofollow">One-Step</a>, and the <a href="http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/" rel="nofollow">National Archives</a>, our tool will help you find any New Yorker listed in the telephone directory. <a href="http://directme.nypl.org/"><strong>Direct Me: NYC</strong></a> will help you get from the name in the directory to the census information by using One-Step to convert the address to enumeration district and opening up the corresponding census pages.</p>
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<p>Read more about <strong>Direct Me: NYC</strong> in the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970204781804577269690613682920-lMyQjAxMTAyMDAwODEwNDgyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email" rel="nofollow">"City Library Eases Way For Searching 1940 Census"</a></p>
<p>Find out more about searching the census for genealogy reasons: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/12/08/everyone-counts-using-census-genealogy-research">Everyone Counts: Using the Census for Genealogy Reasons</a></p>
<p>Learn more about <strong>Direct Me: NYC</strong> by visiting our <a href="http://directme.nypl.org/faq">FAQs</a></p>Referencehttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/04/02/direct-me-nyc-find-new-yorkers-1940-census#commentsMon, 02 Apr 2012 11:19:40 -0400Behind the Scenes of the Milstein Suspense Trailerhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/03/01/behind-scenes-milstein-suspense-trailer
Carmen Nigro, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p><strong>History has secrets... but secrets don’t stay hidden if you know where to look...</strong></p>
<p>The Library's <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein-division-us-history-local-history-genealogy">Milstein Division</a> staff are very excited to present a movie trailer-style promotional video, which debuted this week on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEIO4mWgS2E" rel="nofollow">YouTube.</a> We've loved the videos that other NYPL divisions and neighborhood libraries have made — especially <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/jefferson-market">Jefferson Market Library</a>’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOlfUA1xl34" rel="nofollow">Haunted Library video</a> — and were inspired to make our own. After writing the script, we contacted some <a href="http://www.illustratedradio.net/" rel="nofollow">great people in the film and television industry</a>, and they were willing to help us out.</p>
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<p>Our hero, played by actor <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/ronanbabbitt" rel="nofollow">Ronan Babbitt</a>, uses several Library resources to help him discover his family secrets. We first see him receive Library materials from our page, Sarah, which means he filled in a call slip after consulting the <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/" rel="nofollow">Library's catalog</a>. Our hero then flips through the card catalog drawers. Since we no longer use the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_catalog" rel="nofollow">old card catalog drawers</a> for our collections, what you will find here are three sets of indexes: one for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms" rel="nofollow">coats of arms</a>, one for images of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_liner" rel="nofollow">passenger ships</a>, and one of New York City illustrations.</p>
<p>Our hero also uses many of the Library's <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/%252Fnode/113214">visual collections and ephemera</a>, including postcards, New York City clippings files, and the <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/10252949052_scrapbook_of_original_u_s_army_shoulder_patches,_world_war_i_-_world_war_ii" rel="nofollow">Scrapbook of Original U.S. Army Shoulder Patches</a>. He makes a note to look for a <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/18094956052_coroners_inquisitions,_1823-1898,_new_york,_ny" rel="nofollow">Coroner’s Inquisition</a>. (Coroner's inquisitions were conducted in cases when a person met a sudden, violent, unnatural or suspicious death.) Some of the interesting books that our hero consults include <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/10687677052_biographical_sketches_of_loyalists_of_the_american_revolution,_with_an_historical_essay" rel="nofollow"><em>Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution</em></a>, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/12759999052_the_confederate_soldier_in_the_civil_war,_1861-1865" rel="nofollow"><em>The Confederate Soldier in the Civil War</em></a> and books on <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?commit=Search&amp;f_topic_headings=Heraldry&amp;q=heraldry&amp;searchOpt=catalogue&amp;t=subject&amp;f_format=BK&amp;f_language=eng" rel="nofollow">heraldry</a>.</p>
<p>We see that he has picked up the latest issue of <a href="http://www.nypl.org/events/now-online">NOW</a>, the Library's guide to NYPL programs, classes, and events, and he circles the class description for <a href="http://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2012/03/30/clues-family-photos?nref=62452">Clues From Family Photos</a> so that he will remember to attend.</p>
<p>Our hero consults many of the Library's online resources, including the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/08/03/genealogy-research-tips">Genealogy Research Tips: Breaking Through Brick Walls and Getting Past Dead Ends</a> post from the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/division/milstein">Milstein blog channel</a>. He uses <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/footnote">Fold3</a> to view images of the Vietnam War and <a href="http://www.mathewbrady.com/about.htm" rel="nofollow">Matthew Brady</a>’s Civil War photos, <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">Ancestry Library Edition</a> to check out the U.S. Naturalization Index, and <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/heritagequest-online">HeritageQuest</a> to search people in <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Periodical_Source_Index_(PERSI)" rel="nofollow">PERSI</a>. His search in PERSI must have been a success since we see him reference several genealogy and local history periodicals, including <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/15357500052_pennsylvania_legacies" rel="nofollow"><em>Pennsylvania Legacies</em></a>, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/11885871052_kentucky_ancestors" rel="nofollow"><em>Kentucky Ancestors</em></a>, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/10686276052_oregon_historical_quarterly" rel="nofollow"><em>Oregon Historical Quarterly</em></a>, and <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/11838882052_the_genealogists_magazine" rel="nofollow"><em>The Genealogists’ Magazine</em></a>.</p>
<p>Genealogy and history research is detective work. Researchers are often trying to solve a mystery, and everyone’s mystery is different. What will you find?</p>Library Catalogshttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/03/01/behind-scenes-milstein-suspense-trailer#commentsThu, 01 Mar 2012 17:57:52 -0500Everyone Counts: Using the Census in Genealogy Researchhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/12/08/everyone-counts-using-census-genealogy-research
Carmen Nigro, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center">—<a title=" including also a part of upper &amp; lower Canada and Mexico., Digital ID 434870, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?434870"><img width="540" height="374" alt=" including also a part of upper &amp; lower Canada and Mexico., Digital ID 434870, New York Public Library" title=" including also a part of upper &amp; lower Canada and Mexico., Digital ID 434870, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=434870&amp;t=w" /></a></span>You should always start your genealogy research by interviewing your relatives. Carefully record all of the names, dates, and places that they tell you. Don’t worry if Uncle Joe and Aunt Joan have a different story about where grandma was born, write it all down. With that step complete, it is time to start looking into the United States Federal Census. Census takers assiduously attempt to include all Americans, and they typically do a good job at this task. This is what makes it such a valuable genealogical tool. With few exceptions, the census is generally complete, but not always easy to search. </p>
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<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a title="Occupations - Census takers., Digital ID 732277F, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?732277F"><img width="195" height="300" title="Occupations - Census takers., Digital ID 732277F, New York Public Library" alt="Occupations - Census takers., Digital ID 732277F, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=732277F&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">Census takers in 1930</span></span>The United States Federal Census is constitutionally mandated and occurs every 10 years. Its purpose is to count the number of people living in the United States in order to apportion Congressional districts. For the first censuses, beginning in 1790, getting a count of people is almost all that it did. As years passed, the census became a way to gather even more data about the nation, such as health, housing, employment, growth, and other statistics. Census results are released in two ways. Almost immediately, <a href="http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/" rel="nofollow">statistical data</a> is released. This is how we know the ethnic make-up of an area, population counts, and other demographic information to use for analytics and congressional apportionment. The other information, called population schedules, is <a href="http://www.census.gov/history/www/reference/genealogy/the_72_year_rule.html" rel="nofollow">withheld for 72 years</a>. Population schedules contain a wealth of information about the residents of the United States. These documents include names, ages, and relationships of everyone in a household, amongst other details, such as whether they rent or own their home, their language spoken, and birthplace of their parents. It is a jackpot for genealogists. </p>
<p>The best strategy for searching the census is to start with the most recent available census and then work backward in time. Begin genealogy searches with the census if your ancestors were in the United States before 1930. In <a href="http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/" rel="nofollow">April of 2012, the 1940 census will become available</a>, and this will be the new threshold for U.S. federal census information. You will most likely find your ancestors in the census, and these can be the first documents that you will use to add evidence to your family stories. To help interpret what you find, use <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/15405620052_finding_answers_in_us_census_records" rel="nofollow"><em>Finding Answers in U.S. Census Records</em></a> or <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/15402878052_your_guide_to_the_federal_census_for_genealogists,_researchers,_and_family_historians" rel="nofollow"><em>Your Guide to the Federal Census for Genealogists, Researchers, and Family Historians</em></a>. </p>
<p>When you do find your ancestors in the census, you will find other significant facts about them. This will further help you locate and interpret other documents. Censuses record family members as a group, so this will be key in connecting one generation to another. This is where you will find out whether it was Aunt Joan or Uncle Joe who was correct about Grandma’s birthplace. You can search the census by name in databases such as <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">Ancestry Library Edition</a>, <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/heritagequest-online">HeritageQuest</a>, and <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/footnote">Fold3</a>. The census is also available on the web through <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/" rel="nofollow">FamilySearch Record Search</a> (only some years) and <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/us_census" rel="nofollow">The Internet Archive</a> (not indexed by name). </p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a title="Orchard Street Scene, Digital ID 1583600, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1583600"><img width="300" height="207" title="Orchard Street Scene, Digital ID 1583600, New York Public Library" alt="Orchard Street Scene, Digital ID 1583600, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=1583600&amp;t=w" /></a></span></p>
<p>There’s a common story told when someone cannot find their ancestors in the census. Usually it involves some sort of outlaw activity such as bootlegging, bank robbery, or a general distrust of the government. However, these ancestors are usually listed in the census. It might just require some search savvy to track them down. The important thing to remember is to be flexible and try many different searches. Creativity and persistence are good qualities to use in census searching. </p>
<p>Here are some tips for searching for your ancestors:</p>
<ul><li>Do not fill in every search box — this may exclude legitimate results that include your ancestors. Broadening your search will mean more search results to sort through, but it's more likely that the results will include your ancestor.</li>
<li>If there is a unique or less common name in your family, start with only that name.</li>
<li>If the name you are searching is extremely common, e.g. “Michael Davis,” then you should add more information to help focus your search.</li>
<li>If you do not immediately find your ancestors, do not give up. Use alternative spellings of names and be open to new information.</li>
</ul><p>Further notes on spellings:</p>
<ul><li>Census takers did not check identification papers: mistakes, variations, and complete misunderstandings are extraordinarily common.</li>
<li>Our ancestors may have been semi-literate or illiterate.</li>
<li>Our ancestors could have used different spellings of their own name, or completely changed their names between two different census years.</li>
<li>Abbreviations may throw off your search results — “Rbt” for Robert, “Ptk” for Patrick, “Chs” for Charles, etc.</li>
<li>A person that is known by a nickname in their youth could change to a different version of the name: Molly might become Mary, Bobby might become Bert, etc. This is especially common in homes where a child is named after a parent. For more information on nicknames, consult a name dictionary, which will usually list variations of names.</li>
<li>There may be more than one person with the same name in the same family: Mary Catherine and Mary Elizabeth might be sisters, but will the census taker record them both as Mary or as Catherine and Elizabeth?</li>
<li>A person may Anglicize the spelling of a name over time: Roberto in one year of the census may become Bob in the next.</li>
<li>A person using a different writing system or alphabet, such as Hebrew, Cyrillic, or Chinese, may have no say in how the census taker interpreted and recorded their name using the Roman alphabet.</li>
<li>Initials may interpreted as a name: “J.M.” may have been recorded as “James,” even if the “J” actually indicated Joseph or Jedediah.</li>
<li>Reading the handwriting used in the census may be difficult.</li>
</ul><p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><a title="A photographer amid a crowd outdoors.,[Photographer in a crowd.], Digital ID DS_03SCAPB, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?DS_03SCAPB"><img width="300" height="236" title="A photographer amid a crowd outdoors.,[Photographer in a crowd.], Digital ID DS_03SCAPB, New York Public Library" alt="A photographer amid a crowd outdoors.,[Photographer in a crowd.], Digital ID DS_03SCAPB, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=DS_03SCAPB&amp;t=w" /></a></span>Another strategy is to search the census geographically. You can often find an address for your ancestor in a city directory and then search for the address in the census. The Library has an extensive collection of city directories on microfilm, and there are also directories available in <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/footnote">Fold3</a>. If your ancestor lived in a small town or rural area, you may want to search everyone in that area with their last name.</p>
<p>Every year of the census is slightly different from the next. You can view a <a href="http://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/index_of_questions/" rel="nofollow">complete index of questions</a> for every year of the census, and this will help you determine what type of information you can expect to find. </p>
<p>Some notes on particular census years:</p>
<ul><li>1790-1840 censuses include the names of the heads of households only. Everyone else living in a house is listed by approximate ages only.</li>
<li>1850 is the first federal census to include the names of all members of a household, including children.</li>
<li>1870 is the first census after the Civil War and therefore is the first census to list all African Americans.</li>
<li>1880 is the first census to included street addresses.</li>
<li>1890 census was mostly destroyed in a fire. Only a fragment of the census remains.</li>
<li>States and territories joined the United States at various time periods. You should have some idea of the history of the state you are investigating to know what years it was included in the federal census. For example, you will not find <a href="http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-censuses-1855-1930/10961" rel="nofollow">Kansas in the census</a> until 1860.</li>
</ul><p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><a title=" in Senate Jany. 7th, 1836., Digital ID 434743, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?434743"><img width="300" height="249" title=" in Senate Jany. 7th, 1836., Digital ID 434743, New York Public Library" alt=" in Senate Jany. 7th, 1836., Digital ID 434743, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=434743&amp;t=w" /></a></span></p>
<p>There are other censuses besides the federal census. Many <a href="http://www.census.gov/history/www/reference/genealogy/state_censuses.html" rel="nofollow">states conducted their own censuses</a> for their own purposes. New York has several years of state censuses, and the Library owns a complete set of the surviving census data. For a complete list of New York state censuses, consult <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/16450483052_new_york_state_censuses_amp_substitutes" rel="nofollow"><em>New York State Censuses &amp; Substitutes</em></a>. New York City even conducted its own census in 1890 using police officers as census takers because it believed that the federal census had undercounted its population. This is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/nyregion/survey-suggests-census-undercounted-new-york-city.html?pagewanted=all" rel="nofollow">a familiar accusation</a>, and luckily this census exists because the federal census for that year was destroyed. Although <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">Ancestry Library Edition</a> has added some of the data from the New York City and New York state censuses, it is currently incomplete and includes only a few books. The Library has a complete set on microfilm.</p>
<p>Other censuses include a <a href="http://www.census.gov/history/www/reference/genealogy/1890_veterans_census.html" rel="nofollow">separate census of veterans</a> for 1890, separate censuses for <a href="http://www.census.gov/history/www/reference/genealogy/censuses_of_american_indians.html" rel="nofollow">American Indians</a>, and <a href="http://www.census.gov/history/www/reference/genealogy/mortality_schedules.html" rel="nofollow">Mortality schedules</a>, which are lists of people who died in the year before a census was taken. References such as the <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/15974921052_red_book" rel="nofollow"><em>Red Book</em></a> and <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/16851070052_census_substitutes_amp_state_census_records" rel="nofollow"><em>Census Substitutes and State Census Records</em></a> include suggestions for census alternatives for each state — which may include ideas for searching tax lists or voter registrations when you can not find an ancestor in the federal census. If you have hit a brick wall in your research, you may want to <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/08/03/genealogy-research-tips">try alternate strategies</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/Census_Guide.pdf">View this pdf</a> for a list of The New York Public Library’s census holdings, or stop by the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein-division-us-history-local-history-genealogy">Milstein Division</a> in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building for more help with census research.</p>Referencehttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/12/08/everyone-counts-using-census-genealogy-research#commentsThu, 08 Dec 2011 12:58:45 -0500The Great Obituary Hunt: A Genealogy Research Guidehttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/11/09/great-obituary-hunt-genealogy-research-guide
Carmen Nigro, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><a title="Monuments on Cypress Avenue., Digital ID G91F175_002F, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?G91F175_002F"><img width="500" height="245" title="Monuments on Cypress Avenue., Digital ID G91F175_002F, New York Public Library" alt="Monuments on Cypress Avenue., Digital ID G91F175_002F, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=G91F175_002F&amp;t=w" /></a></span></p>
<p>Like all good detective work, genealogy research benefits from <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/08/03/genealogy-research-tips">organization, patience, and procedure</a>. One of many tools in the researchers toolbox is the obituary. Obituaries are small articles in a newspaper that offer a posthumous piece of the story of a person’s life. They can also be very useful to those who are researching genealogy, adding details that would otherwise be unknown. The names of relatives, location of birth, final resting place, occupation, religious affiliation, volunteer work, and other details of how someone spent their life are but a few examples of the wealth of information that can help a researcher or genealogy hobbyist flesh out the details of the life of someone from the past.</p>
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<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/EinsteinobitNYT.inline vertical.JPG" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="218" height="300" /></span>A great place to start finding obituaries is in digitized newspapers by searching the names of the deceased. One helpful database is <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/proquest-historical-database">ProQuest Historical</a>, which contains newspapers for many major American cities, often the full run of the newspaper. Major newspapers in this database include the <em>New York Times</em>, <em>Boston Globe</em>, <em>Chicago Tribune</em>, <em>Los Angeles Times</em>, <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em>, and <em>Washington Post.</em> The <em>London Times</em> has its own <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/times-digital-archive">database</a>. But even with all this access, the problem that often occurs with big city papers is a lack of obituaries. Papers such as the <em>New York Times</em> and <em>Los Angeles Times</em> often only run obituaries for prominent people, such as this obituary for Albert Einstein.</p>
<p>Smaller newspapers, such as town, neighborhood, and religious affiliation newspapers, do a much better job at chronicling the deaths of the citizens of their communities. The <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/" rel="nofollow">Chronicling America</a> website, sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress, features thousands of digitized local newspapers that you can search for free. The site also includes the extremely useful <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/titles/" rel="nofollow">U.S. Newspaper Directory</a>, where you can determine exactly what newspapers were being published in an area during a specific time period, and the newspaper’s location if it is not digitized. Chronicling America is an expanding project, so you can expect to see it grow with more digitized newspapers as time passes. There are also several papers covering New York towns throughout New York state digitized in the free website <a href="http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html" rel="nofollow">Old Fulton Postcards</a>. For help locating these types of newspapers at NYPL, please see <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/07/18/researching-and-finding-historical-newspapers-nypl">this blog post for researching historical newspapers</a>. </p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><a title="Aline La Favre, Statue Artist, Dancer, Swordswoman, Etc., Digital ID 834051, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?834051"><img width="185" height="300" title="Aline La Favre, Statue Artist, Dancer, Swordswoman, Etc., Digital ID 834051, New York Public Library" alt="Aline La Favre, Statue Artist, Dancer, Swordswoman, Etc., Digital ID 834051, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=834051&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">This woman was described as a Statue Artist, Dancer, and Swordswoman in her obituary.</span></span></p>
<p>New Yorkers might be particularly interested in searching papers like the <em>Staten Island Advance</em>, <em>Brooklyn Daily Eagle</em>, and <em>Bronx Home News</em>, as well as the dozens of other specialized local papers listed in the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/microforms">Periodicals and Microform Division</a>’s list of <a href="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/New_York_City_Newspapers.pdf">New York City Newspapers</a>. Note that there are also papers for particular neighborhoods, such as Harlem and Greenwich Village. Various ethnic and immigrant populations are represented in papers like the <em>Irish World</em> and <em>Swiss American</em>, and there are newspapers in different languages, such as the <em>Amerikai Magyar Nepszav</em> for Hungarian Americans and <em>El Diario La Prensa</em>, the largest Spanish language newspaper of New York City (and oldest, if you include its predecessor, <em>La Prensa</em>, which the library has holdings that date back to 1917). For research in recent ethnic newspapers, you can also use <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ethnic-newswatch">Ethnic Newswatch</a>, which has periodicals that date from 1990 to the present year.</p>
<p>It is also possible to search for obituaries in newspapers that are now defunct. NYPL has several <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases?subject=1096&amp;location=&amp;audience=&amp;language=&amp;keyword=&amp;limit=">historical newspaper</a> databases featuring older publications, including many from the colonial era. Many people start this type of search with <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/americas-historical-newspapers">America’s Historical Newspapers</a>. Another interesting approach is to search for obituaries in trade journals — for example, <em>Library Journal</em> publishes obituaries for librarians who have passed away. You can find trade journals for many types of professions, from farmers to pharmacists. Many of these are searchable in databases, such as <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/jstor">JSTOR</a>, <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/academic-search-premier">Academic Search Premier</a>, and <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/american-periodical-series-online">American Periodical Series</a>.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a title=" Śkoly v Bratislavě (= Les écoles à Bratislava), Digital ID 1590995, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1590995"><img width="200" height="262" title=" Śkoly v Bratislavě (= Les écoles à Bratislava), Digital ID 1590995, New York Public Library" alt=" Śkoly v Bratislavě (= Les écoles à Bratislava), Digital ID 1590995, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=1590995&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">Obituaries are available in many languages.</span></span></p>
<p>Another tactic for locating an obituary is to find an index for the obituaries that appeared in a certain area. Obituaries are usually published in the week following a person’s death, but they can sometimes be published weeks or months afterward. An index can help you locate an obituary that was not published immediately after a person’s passing. Sometimes these lists are compiled into books that you can locate in the Library’s Catalog, such as <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15430605~S1">this index of Dutchess County obituaries</a>. You can also check for birth and marriage announcements as you search for obituaries. For example, <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11517805~S1">this index to the Queens County Sentinel</a> includes birth, marriage, and death announcements. Sometimes genealogical and historical societies will compile these lists and publish them in their periodicals. You can find those by searching <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/jstor">JSTOR</a> or <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Periodical_Source_Index_(PERSI)" rel="nofollow">PERSI</a>, which is accessible through the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/heritagequest-online">HeritageQuest</a> database.</p>
<p>If you are unable to locate an obituary, you might try to obtain a death certificate. In New York City, you can use the <a href="http://www.germangenealogygroup.com/NYCDEATH.STM" rel="nofollow">online death index</a> and then contact the <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/about/archives.shtml" rel="nofollow">Municipal Archives</a> for a copy of the certificate. For other locations, consult the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15974921~S1">Red Book </a>or <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16346224~S1">Handybook</a> to find where these vital records are stored in the United States, or the <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18141238~S1">International Vital Records Handbook</a> for other countries.</p>Referencehttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/11/09/great-obituary-hunt-genealogy-research-guide#commentsWed, 09 Nov 2011 10:43:59 -0500Finding a Life at The New York Public Libraryhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/10/25/magic-life-nypl
George Boziwick, Chief, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Music Division<p>This last week of October, 2011 is <a href="http://www.magicsam.com/magicweek.asp" rel="nofollow">Magic Week</a>. Perhaps it's a good time to tell this true story about how I found a life at The New York Public Library:</p>
<p>In the spring of 1923, my grandfather, a magician, disappeared. This well practiced man of magic had pulled off his greatest trick of all. He was never seen again — at least not by my family. His love for the circus could not hold him to a small town, a young wife, and a three-year-old son. He left, and the memory of him was put aside. Occasionally my grandmother would entertain us with simple tricks she had obviously learned from him; but other than that, little was said of this magician and his colossal feat.</p>
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<p>In 2007, over Thanksgiving dinner, the subject of my grandfather happened to come up. Arriving back at work the following Monday morning, I had a jolting thought that I should look him up in the Library's <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa/billy-rose-theatre-division">Billy Rose Theatre Division</a> card files, since it collects in the areas of magic and magicians. At that time, I had been employed by the Library for over 20 years and not once did it occur to me to search for my grandfather in the extensive card files that have been maintained at NYPL for nearly a century.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Boz_THE_card.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="226" height="142" /></span></p>
<p>Was I surprised?<br />
Not really.<br />
Such are the collections here, <br />
and they rarely disappoint.<br />
But there it was.</p>
<p>A single entry in the card file led me to this picture, in the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/archives/124541">archives of the Society of American Magicians</a> housed here at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and a little part of me could indeed simply not believe it. My family had seen similar pictures before. We were accustomed to the image of him in full “performance dress,” framed and clinging to the old wallpaper of my grandmother’s dining room. But never had we seen him in the context of actually pursuing a working life, such as the one that was now unfolding “before our very eyes.” Was he really <em>somebody?</em></p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Boziwick_GJ_1.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="231" height="300" /></span></p>
<p>Suddenly I was no longer the librarian across the desk helping others. I was now the reader asking for assistance in my personal search. Where do I begin?</p>
<p>I knew of course that a first step was to request the usual clipping files, program files, and photographs, and to search biographical indexes; but my grandfather's magic skills were apparently first rate as this turned up nothing. I was hoping to find a published obituary in <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Variety" rel="nofollow"><em>Variety</em></a>, but even there I came up without a trace. If I wanted to find him I had to do more work, and it was not going to be easy.</p>
<p>At the suggestion of my Theatre Division colleagues, I was able to track down a small but consistent trail of information during the years just after his departure. My grandfather's whereabouts, traced through the “Magic and Magicians” columns of the weekly performing arts trade journal <em>Billboard</em> documented the life of what appeared to be an itinerant performing artist working in circuses and shows around Pittsburgh, PA, Columbus, OH, and other parts of the Midwest, most notably with the Cole Brothers Circus.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Boziwick_1_0.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="300" height="127" /></span></p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Boziwick_2.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="300" height="88" /></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>With the assistance of librarians and archivists, I was also able to locate citations for him in a few magic publications. The biggest find was his application for membership in the National Conjurors Association in the <span class="st"><a href="http://library.brown.edu/collatoz/info.php?id=104" rel="nofollow">H. Adrian Smith Collection of Conjuring and Magicana</a> at Brown University. I was also led to the Magician's Collection and the <a href="http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/collections/performingarts/holdings/browse/descriptions/" rel="nofollow">Harry Houdini Collection</a> at the University of Texasin Austin, where there was a small file on my grandfather. I was told that the presence of a file may have meant that the great Houdini had an interest in him. More likely, my grandfather let Houdini know about his own activities. How else would Houdini have acquired a copy of this local program which took place just prior to my grandfather's departure from the family?</span></p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Magicians_6_Boziwick_001_1.inline vertical.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="197" height="300" /></span></p>
<p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/THE_Boxes.img_assist_custom.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image image-img_assist_custom" width="304" height="227" /></span></p>
<p>So far, census records, draft records, and other sources have revealed very little additional information. He has never been found. But I sense his presence every day when I pass by "his box" on the shelf, in the stacks, where his picture resides, perhaps alongside others just like himself.</p>
<p>Before and since my discovery, I have helped hundreds of researchers in the hunt for long lost relatives — musicians, band leaders, composers — they're all out there. Many are here, hidden in plain sight. A performing arts club of long lost souls whose relatives are eagerly searching the collections, hoping to find a life at The New York Public Library.</p>Performing Artshttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/10/25/magic-life-nypl#commentsTue, 25 Oct 2011 11:30:50 -0400Genealogy Research Tips: Breaking Through Brick Walls and Getting Past Dead Endshttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/08/03/genealogy-research-tips
Carmen Nigro, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><a title="Family., Digital ID 1806932, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1806932"><img width="500" height="381" alt="Family., Digital ID 1806932, New York Public Library" title="Family., Digital ID 1806932, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=1806932&amp;t=w" /></a></span></p>
<p>Genealogy research may now be among America’s favorite hobbies, but it certainly is not the least frustrating. Stamp and coin collecting may start to look more attractive after you spend a few days combing through <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">Ancestry Library Edition</a> and can’t find any new records to help add details to your family tree. But don’t despair for too long, the following tips and tricks may help you get past the dreaded brick wall in genealogy research. </p>
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<p>I would be remiss if I left out some basic but absolutely necessary steps:</p>
<ul><li>Don’t give up! You will be able to find more information with patience and diligence than without it.</li>
</ul><ul><li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Organizing%20your%20family%20history%20search" rel="nofollow">Organize your research</a>:
<ul><li>Chart your family tree.</li>
<li>Make duplicates of primary documents.</li>
<li>Create folders or binders for different branches of your family tree.</li>
<li>Create a database on your computer just for your genealogical research.</li>
<li>Create a research log to help you remember what you searched and what resources you used.</li>
</ul></li>
<li>Review your previous research.
<ul><li>Verify your information with primary documents.</li>
<li>Cite the source for each of your documents — including what type of document it is and where you obtained it.</li>
<li>Analyze your records both separately and as a group. Often when records are gathered over a period of time, new answers, perspectives or clues can be found.</li>
<li>Sort out records that contradict each other, but don’t discard them. Make note of contradictions and see if you can determine why there is conflicting information.</li>
</ul></li>
<li>Look at other case studies to find similar cases to your family research. The trials of others often will give you clues for how to proceed in your family’s cases.</li>
<li>Share your information with other members of your family. They may have leads for you based on the research you have already done, but the information will need to be organized for someone else to understand it.</li>
<li>Remember that genealogy research is a lot like detective work. You are using clues to unlock a larger story. You will occasionally follow false leads and have to retrace your steps and you may have long intervals before another promising lead develops. Embrace your role as a sleuth!</li>
</ul><p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a title=" Jay Street., Digital ID 705101F, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?705101F"><img width="194" height="300" alt=" Jay Street., Digital ID 705101F, New York Public Library" title=" Jay Street., Digital ID 705101F, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=705101F&amp;t=w" /></a></span></p>
<p>After you have completed these basic steps, you may find that you still have a brick wall in the way of your research. Here are some of the next steps towards a genealogical breakthrough:</p>
<ul><li>Do not rely on internet resources alone. There are many, many documents that are not found in popular databases like Ancestry. That being said though, Ancestry continues to add new genealogical records regularly so you should always check for new information every few months.</li>
<li>Read how-to guides — they are extraordinarily useful. You may find some information without any training at all but eventually you will need to learn more about genealogy research as a field. Some recommended resources:
<ul><li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=family%20history%20101%20Melnyk" rel="nofollow"><em>Family History 101</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=beginner%27s%20guide%20genealogy%20internet%20clifford" rel="nofollow"><em>The Complete Beginner's Guide to Genealogy, the Internet, and Your Genealogy Computer Program</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Family History for the Older and Wiser fifer" rel="nofollow"><em>Family History for the Older and Wiser</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=The%20Genealogist%27s%20Companion%20and%20Sourcebook" rel="nofollow"><em>The Genealogist's Companion and Sourcebook</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Secrets%20of%20Tracing%20Your%20Ancestors" rel="nofollow"><em>Secrets of Tracing Your Ancestors</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=genealogy%20george%20morgan%201952" rel="nofollow"><em>How To Do Everything: Genealogy</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=tracing%20your%20family%20history%20hull" rel="nofollow"><em>Tracing your Family History: The Complete Guide to Locating Your Ancestors and Finding Out Where You Came From</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=The%20Weekend%20Genealogist%20Timesaving%20Techniques%20for%20Effective%20Research" rel="nofollow"><em>The Weekend Genealogist: Timesaving Techniques for Effective Research </em></a></li>
</ul></li>
<li>Consult some of the best references. There is a reason that these books are some of the most heavily used by visitors to the Milstein Division — they organize invaluable information about genealogical research and will often open a path for you after you’ve hit the brick wall with internet resources:
<ul><li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=The%20Source:%20A%20Guidebook%20for%20American%20Genealogy" rel="nofollow"><em>The Source: A Guidebook for American Genealogy</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=The%20handybook%20for%20genealogists" rel="nofollow"><em>The Handybook for Genealogists</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Genealogical%20Resources%20in%20New%20York%20guzik" rel="nofollow"><em>Genealogical Resources in New York</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Eichholz%20red%20book" rel="nofollow"><em>Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources</em></a></li>
</ul></li>
<li>Visit multiple places for your research.
<ul><li>E.g. In New York City, many people will need to research here at the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein-division-us-history-local-history-genealogy">NYPL Milstein Division</a> and also visit the <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/about/archives.shtml" rel="nofollow">NYC Municipal Archives</a>, the <a href="http://www.archives.gov/northeast/nyc/" rel="nofollow">National Archives at NYC</a>, the <a href="http://www.nyhistory.org/" rel="nofollow">New York Historical Society</a> and sometimes also a <a href="http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhc/frameset_fhc.asp" rel="nofollow">Family History Center</a>.
<ul><li>We have a <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/36/node/62586">Conducting Research</a> guide and a <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/36/node/65877">FAQ</a> for the Milstein Division and many other archives and libraries do too. Browse their websites before your visits.</li>
<li>Create a research plan if you are traveling to do research away from home. This will help you budget your limited time.</li>
</ul></li>
</ul></li>
</ul><ul><li>Use resources for specialized research. The following are examples of resources in our collections, but there are many more for many types of specialized research. Be sure to also check for genealogy groups that specialize, there are many!
<ul><li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=The hidden half of the family a sourcebook for women&#039;s genealogy" rel="nofollow">Women / Matrilineal research</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/12022121052_native_american_genealogical_sourcebook" rel="nofollow">Native American</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/17415146052_a_genealogists_guide_to_discovering_your_african-american_ancestors" rel="nofollow">African American</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/12022115052_asian_american_genealogical_sourcebook" rel="nofollow">Asian American</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=From%20generation%20jewish%20genealogy%20kurzweil%20how%20to" rel="nofollow">Jewish</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Guide%20to%20Hispanic%20genealogy%20ludwig" rel="nofollow">Hispanic</a></li>
<li>International Roots
<ul><li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Tracing%20your%20Irish%20ancestors%20grenham" rel="nofollow">Irish</a>, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=guide%20to%20discovering%20your%20Italian%20ancestors%20nelson" rel="nofollow">Italian</a>, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Genealogical%20historical%20guide%20to%20Latin%20America%20platt" rel="nofollow">Latin American</a>, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/16020696052_your_swedish_roots" rel="nofollow">Swedish</a>, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/18149926052_finding_your_german_ancestors" rel="nofollow">German</a>, <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=milner%20guide%20to%20discovering%20your%20English%20ancestors" rel="nofollow">English</a>, etc.</li>
</ul></li>
</ul></li>
</ul><p><span class="inline inline inline-right inline-right"><a title="Family Tree., Digital ID 2020706, New York Public Library" href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?2020706"><img width="300" height="214" alt="Family Tree., Digital ID 2020706, New York Public Library" title="Family Tree., Digital ID 2020706, New York Public Library" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=2020706&amp;t=w" /></a><span class="caption caption caption">Family Tree</span></span></p>
<ul><li>Branch out from census and vital records by looking at different types of records:
<ul><li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/18158018052_research_outline" rel="nofollow">Military records</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/18316851052_wanted_us_criminal_records" rel="nofollow">Criminal records</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Your%20guide%20to%20cemetery%20research" rel="nofollow">Cemetery research</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/07/26/nyc-land-conveyances-what-they-are-and-how-they-work">Land</a> and <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Land%20property%20research%20in%20the%20United%20States%20hone" rel="nofollow">property records</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/United_States_Newspapers.pdf">Community newspapers</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li>Consult problem solving books for advanced problems:
<ul><li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/15765458052_500_brickwall_solutions_to_genealogy_problems" rel="nofollow"><em>500 Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/16107192052_more_brickwall_solutions_to_genealogy_problems" rel="nofollow"><em>More Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems</em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=Family%20tree%20problem%20solver%20rising" rel="nofollow"><em>Family Tree Problem Solver: Proven Methods for Scaling the Inevitable Brick Wall</em></a></li>
</ul></li>
<li>Search for genealogies already written about branches of your family. Your family does not have to be famous for someone to have compiled genealogical data about them.
<ul><li>In the NYPL catalog, searching for “family” and the surname will yield good results, e.g. “<a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search/Ytilden%20family">Tilden family</a>.”</li>
<li>Local histories are also rich in genealogical information - they can cover small areas such as neighborhoods, e.g. <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/12630175052_name_index_for_history_of_the_town_of_flushing,_long_island,_new_york" rel="nofollow">Flushing, Queens</a> or broad areas such as counties, e.g. <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/16434826052_partners_all" rel="nofollow">Broome County</a>.
<ul><li>Local histories can also cover abstracts and lists to help in your research, e.g. <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/18888765052_abstracts_of_wills,_carroll_county,_maryland,_1837-1852" rel="nofollow">Abstracts of wills, Carroll County, Maryland</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li>Search in <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/" rel="nofollow">WorldCat</a> to see books that other libraries own.</li>
<li>Search in <a href="http://books.google.com/" rel="nofollow">Google Books</a> to read books that have been digitized (some from our own collection!)</li>
<li>Use <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/heritagequest-online">HeritageQuest</a> to access some digitized genealogies and local histories and to use <a href="https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Periodical_Source_Index_(PERSI)" rel="nofollow">PERSI</a> to search genealogy periodicals for surnames and place names.</li>
</ul></li>
<li>Contextualize your research in the history of the corresponding era:
<ul><li><a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/18359617052_history_for_genealogists" rel="nofollow"><em>History for Genealogists: Using Chronological Time Lines to Find and Understand Your Ancestors</em></a></li>
</ul></li>
</ul><p>Lastly, there are always the pros.</p>
<ul><li>The <a href="http://www.bcgcertification.org/" rel="nofollow">Board for Certification of Genealogists</a> and <a href="http://www.apgen.org/" rel="nofollow">The Association of Professional Genealogists</a> both offer a service to find a genealogist to help you in your research.</li>
<li>You can also have a look at <a href="http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/15042521052_professional_genealogy" rel="nofollow"><em>Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians</em></a> for some pro tips or if you are considering the profession for yourself.</li>
</ul><p>Good luck in your research and remember that <a href="http://www.nypl.org/help/about-nypl/library-lions">Patience and Fortitude</a> are not only mascots of the library, but great qualities to maintain when researching.</p>Referencehttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/08/03/genealogy-research-tips#commentsWed, 03 Aug 2011 17:02:34 -0400New York City Land Conveyances 1654-1851: What They Are and How They Workhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/07/26/nyc-land-conveyances-what-they-are-and-how-they-work
Philip Sutton, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy<p>On microfilm, in olde worlde language, in undecipherable hand writing. Who cares? This is digitized, right? Yes, sometimes, often, and not yet. Being a librarian, I spend a lot of time rummaging through old documents, seemingly dull and indecipherable tracts that often prove to be invaluable sources of the good stuff. Land conveyances are just such a document. The <a href="http://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/" rel="nofollow">New York Genealogical and Biographical Society</a> recently donated to the New York Public Library's <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein-division-us-history-local-history-genealogy">Milstein Division</a>, a microfilmed collection of land conveyances, complete with some wonderful indexes, that collate all transactions between 1654 and 1857 associated with a particular name, e.g. all the land in Manhattan (officially) bought and sold by an individual, group or institution during those years. These documents are a boon to building and house historians, genealogists, and historians alike. Want to know how great-great-grandpapa wheeled and dealed his way to property millions? Or simply how he worked his socks off to scrape together enough money to buy that first family home? Here's where you start.</p><!--break--><h3><strong><a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1650657" title="The Old Rigging House., Digital ID 1650657, New York Public Library"><img alt="The Old Rigging House., Digital ID 1650657, New York Public Library" height="273" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=1650657&amp;t=w" style="float:right" title="The Old Rigging House., Digital ID 1650657, New York Public Library" width="220" /></a>What is a land conveyance? </strong></h3><p>A land conveyance, sometimes referred to as a land or property record, or just a plain deed, is a document that records the transfer of the ownership of land, and in many cases, though not always, the building or buildings on that land, from one party (the grantor) to another (the grantee). A conveyance records the names of the grantor and grantee, and a third-party witness, information about the location of the property, the date of the transaction, and when that transaction was recorded. Land conveyances may also include additional information about a plot of land’s history, any buildings erected on the site, street numbers, and even a map.</p><p>Typically one searches land conveyances using either Block and Lot numbers, or Grantor / Grantee indexes. Using land conveyances it is possible to trace the ownership of a piece of land across a period of time. For instance, in 1815, in make believe Manhattan, Block 100, Lot 10 is owned by one Michael Gill (the grantor), who is selling to William Stone (and his wife Henrietta) (the grantee). In 1828 William Stone, the next grantor, sells the land to Thomas Garfield, the new grantee. Over time a record of ownership of the property can be traced:</p><p><strong>Block 100 Lot 10 </strong></p><p>Land Conveyances</p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td><p align="center"><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p align="center"><strong>Grantor</strong></p></td><td><p align="center"><strong>Grantee</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p align="center">1895</p></td><td><p align="center">Green, Timothy</p><p align="center">Green, Emily</p></td><td><p align="center">Brown, Arthur</p></td></tr><tr><td><p align="center">1880</p></td><td><p align="center">White, Stephen A.</p><p align="center">White, Elizabeth</p></td><td><p align="center">Green, Timothy</p></td></tr><tr><td><p align="center">1854</p></td><td><p align="center">Black, Ebenezer</p></td><td><p align="center">White, Stephen A.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p align="center">1832</p></td><td><p align="center">Garfield, Thomas</p><p align="center">Garfield, Maureen</p></td><td><p align="center">Black, Ebenezer</p></td></tr><tr><td><p align="center">1828</p></td><td><p align="center">Stone, William</p><p align="center">Stone, Henrietta.</p></td><td><p align="center">Garfield, Th.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p align="center">1815</p></td><td><p align="center">Gill, Michael</p></td><td><p align="center">Stone, William</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This is a simplified version of events. Deaths, marriages, legal problems, contested wills, illegibile handwriting, missing documents, and multiple lots, for instance, may make this narrative more complicated.</p><p>If you are more interested in the buying and selling habits of an indivdual, group, or institution, then Grantor / Grantee indexes are the best way to search land conveyances.</p><h3><strong>What does The New York Public Library have?</strong></h3><p>The New York City land conveyances available on microform in the Milstein Division's <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein-division-us-history-local-history-genealogy/milstein-">Microform Reading Room</a> (Room 119) are searchable using Grantor / Grantee indexes, i.e. by name, not block and lot number. Broadly speaking, the years of coverage for conveyances in the boroughs available are:</p><p><strong>Manhattan<a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?805465" title="[Perspective View And Floor Plans Of A Three-Bedroom House In New York City, 19th Century.], Digital ID 805465, New York Public Library"><img alt="[Perspective View And Floor Plans Of A Three-Bedroom House In New York City, 19th Century.], Digital ID 805465, New York Public Library" height="300" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=805465&amp;t=w" style="float:right" title="[Perspective View And Floor Plans Of A Three-Bedroom House In New York City, 19th Century.], Digital ID 805465, New York Public Library" width="173" /></a></strong><br />Conveyances: <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18138592~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1066</a>, 1654-1851.<br />Indexes (collated): <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18138612~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1067</a> (Grantor Index) and </p><p><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18138615~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1068</a> (Grantee Index), 1654-1857; Indexes (not collated): <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18138838~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1069</a> (Grantor Index) and <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18138838~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1070</a> (Grantee Index), 1680-1926</p><p><strong>Kings Co. [Brooklyn]</strong><br />Conveyances [called Deeds]: <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18195859~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1210</a>, 1679-1850.<br />Indexes: <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18145513~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1072</a>, 1683-1950.</p><p><strong>Queens Co. </strong><br />Conveyances: <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18170673~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1208</a>, 1683-1850.<br />Indexes: <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18170673~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1208</a>, 1683-1951.</p><p><strong>Richmond Co. [Staten Island]</strong><br />Conveyances: <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18191721~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1215</a>, 1683-1851.<br />Indexes: <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18191721~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1215</a>, 1683-1973.</p><p>To search for land conveyances by block and lot number, you will need to vist one of the institutions described below. It's a good idea to work out the block and lot number in advance. You can work out current block and lot numbers by visiting the <a href="http://webapps.nyc.gov:8084/CICS/fin1/find001I" rel="nofollow">NYC Department of Finance Block and Lot calculator</a>. Block and lot numbers have changed over the years, so it might be a good idea to consult any one of the <a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?word=Fire%20insurance%20%2D%2D%20New%20York%20%28State%29%20%2D%2D%20Maps&amp;s=3&amp;notword=&amp;f=2">fire insurance maps</a> held by the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/map-division">New York</a>, <a href="http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/brooklyncollection/" rel="nofollow">Brooklyn</a>, or <a href="http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx" rel="nofollow">Queens</a> public libraries, or at the <a href="http://www.nyhistory.org/library" rel="nofollow">New York</a> or <a href="http://brooklynhistory.org/library/search.html" rel="nofollow">Brooklyn</a> historical societies.</p><p>The Milstein Division collections also include land conveyances (sometimes described as property deeds) for other parts of New York State: check The New York Public Library's online <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search/">Catalog</a> for more details.</p><h3><span><span class="inline inline inline-left inline-left"><span class="caption caption caption"><a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?800714" title="Raising Of House No. 39 White Street, N. York, By Brown &amp; Adams, 1860.,Raising of house number 39 White Street, New York, by Brown &amp; Adams, 1860., Digital ID 800714, New York Public Library"><img alt="Raising Of House No. 39 White Street, N. York, By Brown &amp; Adams, 1860.,Raising of house number 39 White Street, New York, by Brown &amp; Adams, 1860., Digital ID 800714, New York Public Library" height="300" src="http://images.nypl.org/?id=800714&amp;t=w" style="float:right" title="Raising Of House No. 39 White Street, N. York, By Brown &amp; Adams, 1860.,Raising of house number 39 White Street, New York, by Brown &amp; Adams, 1860., Digital ID 800714, New York Public Library" width="185" /></a></span></span></span><strong>Why are land conveyences important?</strong></h3><p>It is easy to see how land conveyances might be particularly useful to historians and genealogists. Used in conjunction with other primary source documents (e.g., probate records, tax assessment records, city directories, historic newspapers, census records, and maps), land conveyances help researchers construct a historic narrative. Land conveyances record the history of a plot of land and a building's ownership, the development of a neighborhood or how an individual or a family owned land, and how they conducted business.</p><p>Like many official documents, land conveyances reveal important information beyond what was originally intended, information that might not be found elsewhere. For instance, a genealogist researching a Victorian female ancestor, a married woman hitherto known simply as Mrs. George Brown, might discover the woman's first name in a land conveyance. Wives at this time typically owned one-third of their husband's property, as part of a dower, and as such their names were included in records of land sold by their husbands. Perhaps you are researching <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search~S1?/dNew+York+%28State%29+--+History+--+Colonial+period%2C+c/dnew+york+state+history+colonial+period+ca+1600+1775/-3,-1,0,B/browse">Colonial New York</a> and what to know what land <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16379501~S1">Daniel Horsmanden</a> was buying or selling during this period? This information will be found in land conveyances.</p><p>What else? If you are trying to find out when your Manhattan house was built and it pre-dates the <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/" rel="nofollow">Department of Buildings</a> (1866) records, you can use the land conveyances to find out who owned a plot of land. You can then consult the <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/collections/collections_valuation.shtml" rel="nofollow">Assessed Valuation of Real Estate, 1789-1979</a> records at the <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/about/archives.shtml" rel="nofollow">Municipal Archives</a>; if the value of the plot of land suddenly shoots up one year, then there is a fair chance that the property has been developed, i.e. built upon.</p><p>If a genealogist begins researching family history using the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/ancestry-library-edition">US Federal Census</a>, then the history of a building might begin with land conveyances. A researcher can use conveyance records to construct a list of people who have owned a property from before its construction up to the present day. Using this list as a starting point, a researcher can look up names in censuses, <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases/footnote">city directories</a>, tax records, <a href="http://www.nypl.org/collections/articles-databases?subject=1096&amp;location=&amp;audience=&amp;language=&amp;keyword=&amp;limit=">historical newspapers</a>, and so on, constructing a narrative not only of a building, but also of the lives of the people who owned and occupied it. Like census records, land conveyances place an individual [albeit an inanimate object — a house or building] in a time and place: land conveyances enable one to associate land, and often the buildings contained thereon, with people, actual names, and dates. </p><h3><strong>How to search the land conveyances</strong></h3><p>Generally speaking, there are two ways to search land conveyances; by address, i.e. by block and lot number, or by name, i.e. by grantor or grantee. Collections held by the Milstein Division are searchable by grantor or grantee.</p><p>The indexes <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18138612~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1067</a> and <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b18138615~S1">*R-USLHG *ZI-1068</a>, Index of Conveyances Recorded in the Office of the Register of the City and County of New York, 1654-1857,<strong> </strong>are especially useful as they provide property transactions for New York recorded between 1654 and 1857 and even arrange them by name, collating all of the transactions carried out by an individual, group, or institution during that period. To use the indexes, you should:<strong> </strong></p><ul><li>Find the name of the person involved with a transaction of land that you are researching, as either grantor or grantee in the relevant index. If, for example, you are interested in seeing what land was sold by James Delancey in the 1700s, you would look in the Grantor Index. Delancey is listed on a number of occasions in the Grantor Index (*R-USLHG *ZI-1067). It is important to know a little biographical information about the person you are researching, such as where and when they lived, so that you can identify the correct James Delancey.</li><li>Once you have found an entry for that person, look at individual transactions and make a note of the liber and page number in the index. This is the location of the land conveyance document itself. For instance:</li></ul><blockquote>James Delancey [Grantor] … William Walton [Grantee] … Mar 1762 [The date of the transaction] Jan 26, 1768 [The date it was recorded] Liber 38, Page 131</blockquote><ul><li>Provided that the transaction took place before 1851, select the microfilm reel that contains the correct liber number, in this instance Liber 38, from the Conveyances: *R-USLHG *ZI-1066, 1654-1851, [Reel 9, Liber 38-39 […]] microfilm collection, and look for Liber 38, page 131: here you will find the full conveyance document, describing the details of the transaction.</li></ul><h3><strong>Land conveyances and indexes post-1851:</strong></h3><p>To explore land conveyances post-1851, or for all years by block and lot number, you can search the collections of the following institutions:</p><p><strong>Manhattan</strong><br /><a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/contact/contact_visit_manhattan.shtml" rel="nofollow">City Register’s Office City of New York, Manhattan Business Center, 66 John St.</a>, 13<sup>th</sup> Fl. NY 10036<br />The City Register has New York County (Manhattan) deeds, mortgages and filed maps, 1654-present. Miscellaneous real estate items, may include wills, transfer of dowager rights. Also Bronx: the Manhattan grantor and grantee […] indexes, 1874-1891 include Western Bronx properties.</p><p><strong>Brooklyn</strong><br /><a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/contact/contact_visit_brooklyn.shtml" rel="nofollow">City Register’s Office, Brooklyn: Municipal Building, 210 Joralemon Street</a>, Room 2, Brooklyn, NY 11201<br />Here you will find property records (deeds, mortgages, and filed maps) for Brooklyn (Kings County) from 1697-present. Indexes; digitized present-1966, late-1890s-1960s as ledgers, grantor / grantee indexes, 1697-1966 on microfilm.</p><p><strong>Note</strong>:<span> As of December 5, 2011, Brooklyn Real Property books [block and lot indexes, etc] will no longer be available at this office. On December 12, 2011, the books were relocated to the </span><a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/contact/contact_visit_queens.shtml" rel="nofollow">Queens Business Center</a><span>. Microfilm/microfiche will still be available at the Brooklyn location, on the 6th floor of that building.</span></p><p><a href="http://brooklynhistory.org/library/library.html" rel="nofollow">Brooklyn Historical Society Othmer Library</a>, 128 Pierrepont Street, NY 11201.<br />The Historical Society has an excellent a collection of abstracted land conveyances. Each abstract typically contains a schematic map, information about location, names of grantor and grantee, date of transaction and record, and sometimes street numbers as well. The abstracts are searchable by block and lot number. The full land conveyances abstracted here are available at 210 Joralemon Street: use the liber / page number in the abstract to find the full record at the City register's Office. Any house historian or genealogist interested in Brooklyn would be advised to consider visiting the Brooklyn Historical Society, where they will also find an excellent collection of maps, photographs, and city directories for the area.</p><p><strong>Queens</strong><br /><a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/contact/contact_visit_queens.shtml" rel="nofollow">City Register’s Office Queens, 144-06 94th Avenue</a>, 1st Floor, Jamaica, NY 11435<br />All real property recorded instruments (deeds, mortgages, and maps) for Queens County, recorded 1683-present. Also pre-1899 records for <strong>Nassau</strong><strong> County</strong>. On microfilm (all years), in block / lot microfilm jackets (1968-1987) or in ledgers (1839-1968).</p><p><strong>Bronx</strong><br /><a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/contact/contact_visit_bronx.shtml" rel="nofollow">City Register’s Office, Bronx Business Center, 3030 Third Avenue</a>, Room 280, Bronx, NY 10455<br />This office has real property records (deeds, mortgages, and maps) for Bronx County, 1674-present. Records on microfilm (all years), by block / lot (1968/1991). Some records are also in Manhattan (see above for details).</p><p><strong>Staten Island</strong><br /><a href="http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/13jd/justices.shtml" rel="nofollow">County Clerk’s Office, State Supreme Court, Richmond County</a>. (Staten Island), 130 Stuyvesant Place, 2nd Floor, Staten Island, NY 10301<br />Deeds recorded from May 1683 to October 1973 and from July 1986 to the present are indexed in libers by both grantor and grantee. These libers are arranged by groups of years and alphabetically by surname. For more details see <a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15615457~S1">Guzik</a>, page 273.</p><p><strong>References</strong><br /><a href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b15615457~S1"><em>Genealogical Resources in New York</em></a> edited by Estelle M. Guzik<br />New York, NY : Jewish Genealogical Society, 2003.</p>Referencehttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/07/26/nyc-land-conveyances-what-they-are-and-how-they-work#commentsTue, 26 Jul 2011 13:54:22 -0400Who Do You Think You Are—A Musician? Genealogy in the Music Divisionhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/01/31/who-do-you-think-you-are-musician-genealogy-music-division
Bob Kosovsky, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Music Division<p> <span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Union_book1.inline vertical.jpg" alt="Cover page of 1927 directory of Local 802, the New York Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians" title="Cover page of 1927 directory of Local 802, the New York Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="180" height="300" /><span class="caption caption caption">Cover page of 1927 directory of Local 802, the New York Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians</span></span></p>
<p>Genealogy is back on prime time with the resumption of the show <a href="http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>Who Do You Think You Are?</em></a>, now beginning its second season on NBC-TV on Friday, February 4th. Genealogy is my hobby too, so I'm always excited when I can combine it with my professional activities in the Music Division.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/professionalresources/atoz/Genealogy/genealogy.cfm" rel="nofollow">According to the American Library Association</a>, "Genealogical research has become one of America's favorite pastimes." I've heard that a recent national library report stated that 80% of researchers working with archival collections at libraries, museums and historical societies are working on genealogy. Wow! While that may be a slight overstatement, it suggests that genealogy is a topic that engages our user community - whether it be for research or recreation.</p>
<div>
<p>I suspect most people start out searching their own family history, or searching the family history of famous individuals. The pattern of their research is usually finding an individual in various sources. Less often, one finds people interested in the sources themselves—sources which, when thoroughly examined, can provide a lot of interesting information. So I'm going to focus on one source that I've found particularly useful and interesting.</p>
<p>Genealogists love resources that have listings of names with additional information. Among the more useful are directories. Probably the most well-known kind of directory are city directories. These were usually published annually (sometimes more frequently), and contain listings of the occupants of a city, usually with their address and occupation. Many of these city directories were published by Polk's (a <a target="_blank" href="http://catalog.nypl.org/search/Y?SEARCH=polk&#039;s+directory&amp;searchscope=1">search of Polk's directory in our Catalog</a> will reveal many such city directories). By the mid-1920s, city directories were often supplanted by phone directories. (<a target="_blank" href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11343493">New York City</a> stopped producing such directories by the 1930s.) One of our leading genealogical online resources, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/" rel="nofollow">AncestryLibrary</a> (produced by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ancestry.com/" rel="nofollow">Ancestry.com</a>, the creators of <em>Who Do You Think You Are?</em>), is always adding to their already large number of digitized versions of such directories. (AncestryLibrary is available for free in all branches of The New York Public Library.)</p>
<div>Beyond city directories, numerous smaller associations such as social clubs, professional organizations, associations, and unions also kept member directories. Local 802, the New York chapter of the American Federation of Musicians, is one of these unions. <a href="http://www.local802afm.org/" rel="nofollow">The website</a> proudly calls itself "the largest local union of professional musicians in the world." Beginning with their earliest years, they have issued membership directories annually. These directories help employers who want to hire players, and allow for networking among musicians. While the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa/music-division">Music Division</a> does not have a full run of these directories, we have an <a target="_blank" href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11888813">ample number of them beginning with 1927</a>.<br /></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Union_book2.inline vertical.jpg" alt="Union directories of Local 802 - American Federation of Musicians on Music Division shelves" title="Union directories of Local 802 - American Federation of Musicians on Music Division shelves" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="300" height="225" /><span class="caption caption caption">Union directories of Local 802 - American Federation of Musicians on Music Division shelves</span></span></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>The earliest of these directories begin with a date calendar where musicians could write down their performance engagements - known in the business as "gigs." Under union rules, freelance musicians need to report all their gigs in order to be paid.</div>
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<div>The earliest directories organized members by instrument. </div>
<div><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Union_book3.inline vertical.jpg" alt="Index of the 1927 directory of Local 802, Greater New York Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians" title="Index of the 1927 directory of Local 802, Greater New York Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="180" height="300" /><span class="caption caption caption">Index of the 1927 directory of Local 802, Greater New York Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians</span></span></div>
<div>People who played more than one instrument would be listed mutiple times under each instrument. Non-performers, such as composers, arrangers, and theorists (those who teach about music) are listed at the end. (Today, where out of necessity many musicians play multiple instruments, the <a target="_blank" href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11888813~S1">current directory</a> lists all musicians alphabetically, with coded cross references indicating which instruments they play.)</div>
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<div>The opening page of the directory listings shows the format: name, address, phone number. </div>
<div><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Union_book4.inline vertical.jpg" alt="First page of listings from the 1927 directory of Local 802, Greater New York Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians" title="First page of listings from the 1927 directory of Local 802, Greater New York Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="204" height="300" /><span class="caption caption caption">First page of listings from the 1927 directory of Local 802, Greater New York Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians</span></span></div>
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<div>At first glance It might look humdrum, but there are a number of interesting things here. Note that addresses are not restricted to New York City, since musicians active in the city did not necessarily live here. Any musician active in New York City would need to register with Local 802, no matter where they lived. One expects addresses of members residing in Long Island, but what is less expected are people such as Nicholas Acrivelis from Saranac Lake in upstate New York, and Charles F. Adams from Rockford Illinois. Their inclusion suggests an itinerant lifestyle, or one split between their listed residences and New York City. (A little bit of research showed that Acrivelis eventually settled in Saranac Lake and ran one of the hotels there.)</div>
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<div>Look at the first name, Hyman Aaron. It's a usual entry, giving his street address, apartment number, borough, and phone number. Now compare that with Irwin Abrams, whose contact information is simply: Harding Hotel, and the hotel's phone number. Clearly Mr. Aaron had settled into an apartment, while Mr. Abrams's living situation made him rely on a room in a hotel. That highlights the difference in economic state among musicians' lives. Established musicians could manage a permanent residence, while others had to settle for what they could afford at the moment. Some months ago a reference question came in from a distant state, asking us to trace the whereabouts of an ancestor, a little-known musician. I found him in the union books over a ten-year span, but with few exceptions, each union book listed him at a different address. Sometimes he was not listed at all (maybe he didn't pay or couldn't afford membership dues). That means he changed residences nearly each year. It underscores how the life of musicians, especially those starting out, can be very difficult.</div>
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<div>For those genealogists who are used to just the 10-year Federal census reports, these union directories provide a much more vivid picture of the lives of its members. </div>
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<div>The back of the directory also lists members who passed away the previous season:</div>
<div><span class="inline inline inline-center inline-center"><img src="http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/Union_book5.inline vertical.jpg" alt="Page of those deceased in the past year - from the 1927 directory of Local 802, Greater New York Chapter of the AFM" title="Page of those deceased in the past year - from the 1927 directory of Local 802, Greater New York Chapter of the AFM" class="image image image-inline image-inline vertical vertical" width="200" height="300" /><span class="caption caption caption">Page of those deceased in the past year - from the 1927 directory of Local 802, Greater New York Chapter of the AFM</span></span></div>
<div>This kind of list can provide information when other sources do not (not all deaths appear in newspaper obituaries, or online indices). It is especially valuable if the individual did not live within New York City, or died outsite of the city limits. On this list at least two musicians are well-known to me: Joseph Carl Breil is one of the first American composers to score a silent feature film (D. W. Griffith's <a target="_blank" href="http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b17926983~S1"><em>The Birth of a Nation</em></a> from 1915; the score's love theme was later transformed into "The Perfect Song," made famous on the radio as the theme song for the <a target="_blank" href="http://catalog.nypl.org/iii/encore/search/C%7CSAmos+&#039;n&#039;+Andy+(Radio+program)%7COrightresult%7CU1?lang=eng&amp;suite=pearl"><em>Amos 'n' Andy</em></a> show), and Emil Gerstenberger, an orchestrator for Broadway musicals in the 1920s.</div>
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<div>While each individual directory can provide a wealth of information, when taken collectively, their value is even greater. As New York City has long been a magnet for musicians, a number of historic incidents are indirectly reflected in these directories: At the end of the 1920s, numerous theater musicians were put out of work due to the wholesale adoption of sound film. On top of that, the 1929 Depression had a greater impact, putting many musicians out of work. Yet by the end of the 1930s, the annual membership directory grew larger due to mass immigration from Europe. By the 1950s, one can see the increase in musicians specializing in rock music, and so on up to the present day. </div>
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<div>Taken collectively, these directories provide a sociological history of musicians in New York City. They are a wonderful tool not just for genealogists, but also for those studying evolving trends in music. </div>
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<div>They are still being published, but I suspect that within the next few years, the expense will be overruled by the convenience of an online-only directory, available wherever one has Internet access, but only to union members. Should the day come when Local 802 ceases publishing these directories, we will lose an important research tool. Fortunately, the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa/music-division">Music Division</a> of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html">The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts</a> will still have its collection.</div>
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<div>For more about directories at NYPL: <a href="http://www.nypl.org/blog/2010/12/14/look-book-city-directory"><em>A Look at "The Book": The Fall and Rise of the Telephone Directory</em></a></div>
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</div>New York Cityhttp://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/01/31/who-do-you-think-you-are-musician-genealogy-music-division#commentsMon, 31 Jan 2011 14:44:21 -0500